By Chris Williams: Terence Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs) came on strong in the final round to score a 12th round knockout win over #14 WBO previously unbeaten Jose Benavidez (27-1, 18 KOs) on Saturday night to retain his WBO welterweight title on ESPN at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The fight was stopped at 2:42 of round 12.
(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
Crawford hurt Benavidez with a right uppercut. Benavidez was so exhausted at that stage. He wasn’t able to stay on his feet.
The stoppage was premature. The referee should have let it play out to see if the 26-year-old Benavidez could survive. He owed him that. However, this fight was in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, so his loyal boxing fans didn’t mind too much that the fight was halted early.
Crawford, 31, knocked the gimpy-kneed Benavidez down with a left-right combination in the 12th round. After Benavidez got back to his feet, Crawford flurried on him until the referee stepped in to halt the fight. The 6’2″ Benavidez, 26, was too tired and hurt to stop Crawford after he knocked him down.
Crawford was an in and out style of fighting to land his shots, and then get away before Benavidez could hit him.
Benavidez’s knee injury left him unable to fight at the level that he needed for him to have a chance of beating Crawford, but he still did an admirable job in the first half of the fight before he wore down. It was not a great performance by Crawford. He showed a lot of vulnerability that the likes of Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr. would badly exploit. The major thing that will hurt Crawford when/if he ever steps it up against the best in the 147 lb division is his lack of punching power. Crawford simply isn’t a big puncher at the weight, and he doesn’t react well when he gets hit solid. Crawford’s head ricochets badly on his slender neck when he’s hit hard. You can only imagine what will happen when the big punchers Spence and Porter connect with a big shot against Crawford. However, there’s no telling when those fights will happen. They could take years, and Crawford might be a depleted fighter by the time they do take place. Spence, 28, is three years younger than the 31-year-old Crawford, and a lot bigger and stronger than him.
What’s clear is Top Rank needs to reach out to Al Haymon to make the fight between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. those two have to fight to prove who the best welterweight in the division. If Keith Thurman ever comes back, he’s someone that Crawford needs to fight as well. What the boxing fans saw tonight of Crawford, he would likely lose to Thurman and Spence. Crawford just isn’t good enough at welterweight to beat those guys in this writers view. There’s nothing wrong with that. Crawford looks like he’s a good #3 or #4 guy at 147. I’m not sure that Crawford could beat the likes of Shawn Porter or Danny Garcia either. Those guys can punch and they know how to smother the weaker fighters.
