Terence Crawford joined the all-time greats of boxing after delivering a masterful performance in his Las Vegas super fight against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on Saturday.
Crawford, 37, jumped up two weight classes to outbox and outfight the legendary Mexican in front of a record crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium and a huge global television audience on Netflix.
The American rubbished fears he would be too small to compete physically with Canelo as he took the bigger man's best shots and paid him back with interest, often having the last word in the exchanges and leaving the now former undisputed super middleweight champion marked up and demoralised.
Two judges gave Crawford the verdict 115-113, and the third 116-112. Despite some close rounds, Crawford was a worthy winner with few disputing the outcome.
The unbeaten Crawford, who improved to 42-0 with 31 knockouts, went down to a knee even before the decision was announced and then wept after he was named the winner.
The victory bolsters his claim to be the greatest fighter of this era – perhaps only heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk can rival his achievements – and saw him set numerous benchmarks.
Crawford is the first fighter to have been undisputed champion in three weight classes – light welterweight, welterweight, and now super middleweight.
He is also the first man in history to have won a lightweight world title and then moved all the way up to win a title as a super middleweight – a jump of five divisions in total.
“I'm not here by coincidence. Canelo is a great champion, I have to take my hat off to him. He's a great competitor and I have great respect for him. He fought like a champion,” said Crawford.
Asked if he would fight again, he said: “I don't know, I have to sit down with my team and we'll talk about it. I want to say thank you to all the supporters and the haters. I appreciate you all. Shout out to my fans and those supporting Canelo. We get to go home to our children.”
For Canelo, there was pride even in defeat. “I'm a winner for being here. The fact I'm here makes me a winner. I take risks and that's what I did,” the 35-year-old said.
“I feel great to share the ring with great fighters like him. If we do it again, then it'll be great. I already accomplished a lot in boxing. My legacy is already there and I like taking risks because I love boxing.”
Wary of his opponent's fabled power, Crawford exercised caution in the early rounds and expertly neutralised Canelo's bombs with a calculated balancing act.
He managed the distance carefully and flitted in and out of danger, landing impressive flurries. The attritional assault by the smaller boxer put Canelo, who falls to 62-3-2 (39ko), on the back foot.
The Mexican connected with some thudding body shots but he and his team realised he was behind as the bout headed into the final stretch.
An accidental head clash cut Crawford and saw a brief pause in a pulsating ninth round as Canelo pressed the action.
Going into the 10th, his trainer Eddie Reynoso told him there were nine minutes left and he "needed the rounds". Heeding that advice he went on the attack, but the breakthrough never arrived.
If anything, Crawford grew in confidence, holding his feet more and landing devastating combinations and absorbing any punches that sneaked through his guard with resilience as he kept his remarkable unbeaten streak alive.
Netflix add gloss to historic event
The fact that the main event delivered in such a spectacular fashion will have provided huge satisfaction to Netflix bosses, with the streaming giant placing its considerable weight behind the bout.
Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian power broker de facto running world boxing, claimed on X that when the viewing figures are released, they will confirm Canelo-Crawford as the “most watched fight in history".
“I have information that Netflix will tell you on Monday this is now officially the most watched fight in professional boxing history. And the biggest attendance in a closed stadium in USA 70,482,” posted Alalshikh, referencing a record crowd for an indoor boxing event.
With live sport now firmly on their radar, Netflix had dipped their toe in the combat sports market by screening the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul exhibition last year and also a women's card headlined by the trilogy bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
But this was their first elite men's card and provided a telling glimpse of what the future of big-time boxing might look like.
Bankrolled by Riyadh Season and led by Alalshikh, this event was promoted by UFC President and CEO Dana White.
White has started a promotional entity called Zuffa Boxing in partnership with TKO Holdings and backed up by Alalshikh. With TKO being the parent company of UFC and WWE, Saturday's event seems like a key milestone as TKO look to add boxing to their expanding combat sports empire.
It’s a move that could see traditional promoters and sanctioning bodies frozen out, with the group looking to introduce their own rankings and championship belts in the near future. That process began when Alalshikh acquired Ring Magazine last year, and with it their belts, rankings and brand recognition.
It's unlikely Netflix will become a home for the weekly grind of a sport that is seldom as glamorous as Saturday, but it's clear they will be in the market to broadcast the really big events.
Canelo-Crawford certainly benefitted from their creative input, with the card elevated by a level of production value unseen in the sport since the glory days of boxing on HBO.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
