A timeline of Terence Crawford’s quest for greatness

Terence Crawford, the three-weight world champion, will attempt to conquer a fourth division on Saturday [July 30] when he takes on Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight title.

Crawford may have enjoyed huge success in his career, from becoming undisputed champion in two divisions to beating his long-time rival Errol Spence, but it’s not always been plain sailing.

Here we take a look at the many highs, and the odd low, of Crawford’s career so far.

 2008 – Missing out on the Olympics to Sadam Ali

In the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, Crawford was ranked the number one lightweight in the U.S. and was victorious in three tournaments before the Games and was expected to qualify. However, Crawford’s Olympic ambitions came to an end when he suffered defeat to leading contender Sadam Ali, who took his place in Beijing. Without the fanfare of an Olympic adventure behind him, Crawford turning professional in 2008 went largely unnoticed.

 2014 – Defeated Ricky Burns for WBO lightweight title

In 2014, Crawford’s wait for a shot at a world title came to an end as he was given the opportunity to dethrone WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns. Crawford had to travel to Burns’ backyard in Glasgow but was widely considered the favorite going into the contest. Crawford, then 22-0, boxed well from the outside, using his superior skills to outland Burns and take a unanimous decision victory. With the win, Crawford lifted his first world championship.

 2014 – Defeated Yuriorkis Gamboa in first defense

Crawford made the first defense of his WBO lightweight title against former Olympic gold medallist and former unified featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. The contest was Crawford’s first fight in his hometown of Omaha but many still fancied Gamboa to take the title. However, the bout turned into a breakout performance as Crawford dropped Gamboa four times before the referee called a halt to the action in the ninth.

 2015 – Defeated Thomas Dulorme for WBO junior welterweight title

After successfully defending his lightweight title twice, Crawford moved up to face Thomas Dulorme for the vacant WBO junior welterweight championship. Crawford put on an impressive showing, dropping Dulorme three times in round six to secure the stoppage. The victory meant that Crawford was now a two-weight belt-holder and lined him up for unifications with the other titlists at 140 pounds.

 2016 – Defeated Viktor Postol for WBC junior welterweight title

Crawford faced WBC junior welterweight champion Viktor Postol in a unification bout widely deemed as the decider of the best in the division. Crawford dropped Postol twice on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Crawford earned himself his second Ring Magazine belt to add to the one he picked up at lightweight and set himself up for a potential fight against a returning Manny Pacquiao.

 2017 – Defeated Julius Indongo for undisputed junior welterweight title

Crawford faced fellow unified junior welterweight champion Julius Indongo to crown the first undisputed champion in any division since 2005. Crawford, who held the WBC and WBO titles, made light work of Indongo, who held the WBA and IBF belts, stopping him in the third round with a sickening body shot. Afterwards, he revealed plans to move up to welterweight to take on champion Jeff Horn.

 2021 – Missed out on Manny Pacquiao fight

After Manny Pacquiao defied the odds and defeated Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight title, Crawford was in the mix to face the veteran in a unification fight, but the Filipino chose to fight Spence instead. The fight was scheduled for August 2021, but Spence withdrew due to suffering an eye injury. Yordenis Ugas was chosen to replace Spence in the fight. The 42-year-old Pacquiao was well past his peak and lost a deserved verdict which all but ended his career.

 2021 – Separation from Top Rank

Following Crawford’s win over Shawn Porter, the welterweight champion announced that he would be parting ways with his promoter Bob Arum. The reasoning behind Crawford’s decision was his belief that Arum had failed to deliver the big fights against Spence and Pacquiao at welterweight. Arum was very critical of the fighter’s decision, insisting that Crawford was a hard sell and that he had done his best with what he had.

 2023 – Defeated Spence for undisputed welterweight title

In a matchup that hardcore fans – and Crawford himself – had long yearned for, “Bud” finally got his chance to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed championship of the world. Experts and fans struggled to pick a winner for the contest, but Crawford dominated, dropping Spence three times before stopping him in round nine. The victory meant that Crawford was crowned undisputed champion for the second time and had held The Ring Magazine belt in three weight classes. After such a dominant display against a champion of Spence’s stature, many considered Crawford the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.

 2023 – Errol Spence rematch not happening

The pair were due to face each other after Spence activated the rematch clause in their contract. The fight would have seen Crawford gain a much-improved purse from their first contest. He relinquished the IBF title after being ordered to face Jaron Ennis, choosing to pursue the contractually obliged rematch with Spence. However, Spence pulled out to undergo eye surgery, leaving Crawford without his career-high payday and undisputed championship.