Terence Crawford Top Knockouts: 18 Nasty KOs By Bud

Terence Crawford has been doing his thing as a pro for a long spell. The fighting pride of Nebraska turned professional in 2008. Along the way, the ultra talented pugilist has racked up a 40-0 record. 31 of those wins came by KO. He’s on a very short list of best finishers among all active fighters as we speak.

Check out this list of standout knockouts by Terence Crawford, who met and greeted Errol Spence on Saturday, July 29, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. That welterweight clash, so much yearned for and anticipated, would signal who is the best of breed at 147 pounds.

To whet your appetite as we count down to July 29, 2023, a KO compilation featuring one of the sports’ best finishers, Terence Crawford

Victim 1: Derrick Campos

On 7-30-11 Mike Alvarado-Gabriel Martinez headlined on FOX, at the Softball Country Arena in Denver, Colorado. Campos tried to hang in there but the fighter couldn’t protect that chin.

The punishment which preceded the finish…right check hook sent Campos to the mat, fast and hard. He got up for more. More hard shots absorbed, including egregious body work. A left hook floored Campos, who took yet more.

Fatigue, with a left hook-right hand follow flourish, ended the night for Campos. Terence Crawford went to 14-0 with a TKO2 victory.

NOTE: Campos didn’t box again.

Victim 2: Andres Gorges

On 4-4-12, Brandon Rios met Richar Abril in the Las Vegas main event, an HBO PPV. Iraqi/Canadian Andres Gorges came to the ring 11-2, and ended up kissing it, doing a face plant in round five, as he succumbed to the heavy handed Terence Crawford.

Whomp, an overhand right from Omaha detonated on the jaw, after a uppercut-jab throway froze the loser. The act got Col. Bob Sheridan going on about brain anatomy, it was that nasty.

NOTE: Gorges waited two years to fight again. He won via KO in 2014, and hung up the mitts.

Victim 3: Alejandro Sanabria

On 6-15-13, underneath the Mikey Garcia-Juan Manuel Lopez main event on HBO, the 20-0 Crawford went in with Mexico’s Alejandro Sanabria, holding a 34-1-1 record.

The boxer-puncher smashed the loser handily, and forced the end in round six. A left hook, the first punch to start round six, clipped Sanabria on the chin. A lil helper hook/shove made him pitch to the floor, almost somersault, and then reach his feet. His legs and eyes said he wasn’t all there, and the ref waved it off.

“It was like he was coming with a lead jab, and he came around with a beautiful left hook,” said HBO analyst Roy Jones.

NOTE: This stands as the last pro fight for Sanabria.

Victim 4: Yuriorkis Gamboa

On 6-28-14, folks saw a triumphant homecoming showcase for Bud, who came to this bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa after decisioning Andrey Klimov (in Florida) and Ricky Burns (in Scotland).

Now holding the WBO 135 strap he nicked off Burns, Terence Crawford got matched with 23-0 Gamboa.

It was seen as a pick em fight to many, and plenty thought the slick Gamboa would handle the midwesterner in his home state. Not even. Down went Gamboa in the fifth, the eighth, and twice in the ninth.

A free-swinging right hand felled Gamboa in the ninth, he’d been downed right before and the fight could have been stopped. On shaky legs, he tried to finish the ninth, but Bud wouldn’t hear of it.

“Terence Crawford has become an American star,” said analyst Larry Merchant.

Victim 5: Thomas Dulorme

On 4-18-15 in Texas, Bud handled Thomas Dulorme, the Puerto Rican hitter, as expected.

Previous fight, Bud beat Ray Beltran, and he made the leap to 140 following. The jump went fine.

In round six, Crawford’s one-two discombobulated Dulorme. (Replay showed it was a feint jab/hook, right follow). He took a knee, and processed it. Repeated power shots had Dulorme floored again, this time on his back. Righty, Bud pasted Dulorme, who tried simply to block or slip. He failed, sliding to a knee, as the ref jumped in to halt the walloping.

Dulorme enjoyed a lead on the cards through five, as Terence Crawford did “data collection” and threw sparsely. Then, in the six, not sparse.

Victim 6: Dierry Jean

On 10-24-15, a home-town triumph once again for Bud, who took a 26-0 mark into the CenturyLink Center in Omaha versus 29-1 Dierry Jean, a Haitian Canadian who’d been stopped by Lamont Peterson a year prior.

As Warren Buffet looked on, Jean hit the floor in round one, 9 and 10. In the first, Terence Crawford went righty, until the last 25 seconds of the first.

When he switched to lefty versus Gamboa, that paid big dividends, blow by blow man Jim Lampley stated. The combo: straight left, right hook. It landed on the chin and Jean on his butt.

Fun fact: Terence Crawford hoped to get a fight with Manny Pacquiao for his next outing if he looked great. That was one of the plans for that period of time for Pacman. The gig went to Tim Bradley, Bradley and Manny tussled on 4-9-16, their third tango. Only Crawford knows how frustrated he felt as the promotional warring of that era limited his opponent pool.

Victim 7: Hank Lundy

On 2-27-16, Top Rank decided it time for Bud to do his thing in NYC, to get that extra media attention. Foe Hank Lundy, holding a 26-5-1 mark, got the B side slot.

In the fifth, after doing scouting, Bud got to business. A left hand landed clean and put Lundy on the floor. He got up, and thought about admitting to the ref that he wasn’t all there. The action continued, not for long.

Bud bulled Lundy into a corner, and ripped shots. Steve Willis did the right thing and saved Lundy some brain cells.

Victim 8: John Molina Jr

On 12-10-16, Viktor Postol hung tough and lost a wide points decision to Bud in July 2016. Terence Crawford came back and fought solid journeyman John Molina Jr in Omaha. Ugh..Molina failed to make weight for the junior welter scrap so Crawford’s belts couldn’t be transferred to him if he won. He didn’t.

Both hands found Molina, who charged ahead and tried to catch Crawford with something. In the eighth, target practice.

Bud again bulled his foe into a corner, and started winging shots.

Brain cell saver Michael Griffin saw right hooks from the lefty stance Terence Crawford landing clean and interceded.

Victim 9: Felix Diaz

On 5-20-2017, Felix Diaz, a Dominican southpaw, took the B side slot, on an NYC stage.

He succumbed to the skill set of Bud in round 10. Diaz looked to go the distance, he put up his guard and tried to protect the chin. Bud played with his food some, but also threw hammers at Diaz.

Trainer Joel Diaz, seeing his guys’ eyes swollen and his fatigue level pulled the plug after the tenth.

Victim No 10: Julius Indongo

On 8-19-17, it was thought maybe Julius Indongo, from Namibia, in Southern Africa, could test Terence Crawford.

Nah.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, Bud added the WBA and IBF 140 straps to his collection. Whacks to the body hurt the lefty Indongo and a head shot after sent him to the canvas in the second. Indongo wanted to land a Hail Mary, Bud knew he had something left.

In round three, a left underneath to the bread basket had Indongo real hurt. He writhed and couldn’t beat the Jack Reiss count.

Victim No 11: Jeff Horn

On 6-9-2018, Jeff Horn at 18-0-1 got next crack at Bud.

In Vegas, the Aussie athlete hung tough. Terence Crawford landed the left, low and high. He sensed it to be show closing time. A straight left almost had Horn on the floor at the bell in round eight. Crawford let Horn work some, to start the ninth.

Bud scored a knockdown, off a right after landing both paws. Robert Byrd had a short leash, and he stepped in before Crawford totally operated Horn from his senses.

“Bud Crawford, on top of the world,” said blow by blow man Joe Tessitore as Crawford exulted.

Victim No. 12: Jose Benavidez Jr

On 10-13/2018, Jose Benavidez Jr talked a good game, but like the rest of ‘em, succumbed.

The Phoenix, Arizona product looked to go 12. Terence wouldn’t let him.  The fans in Omaha loved it in round 12, when Bud scored a knockdown.  Benavidez got up, after that ugly right hook, looking dazed, and like he didn’t really want to continue.

He did, for a bit. Bud hopped him, ripped with both hands, and the ref let about four land before calling for the halt, with 20 seconds to go. Bud gave the patrons what they wanted, that conclusive finish.

Of course, a theme continued. A lack of depth of opponents meant that once again Crawford went into the fight a prohibitive favorite. If it were David not Jose Jr…But, this was smack dab hard in the middle of the promotional warring/territory staking.

Victim No. 13: Amir Khan

NYFights coverage of the Terence Crawford-Amir Khan fight, April 21, 2019

On 4-20-19, Amir Khan hoped to use his hand speed and experience to hand Bud his first loss. In the big room at Madison Square Garden, Terence Crawford showed the Brit icon that wasn’t to be.

A right hand from a righty Crawford felled Amir in the first, with 44 seconds to go. Then, in the sixth, Bud ripped a left to the body. Body, or balls? Khan indicated that he got fouled. He did; replay showed the glove landed on the front thigh near that groin.

Trainer Virgil Hunter asked Khan if he wanted to end it, a few times, and then Virgil said no mas.

Victim No. 14: Mean Machine

On 12-14-19, Bud did the job, again in NY, stopping Egidijus Kavaliaskaus via TKO 9.

Before that, “Mean Machine” had some moments. Bud had a knockdown in the seventh, and two more in round nine. In the third, MM landed clean and Bud looked to grab. The telling blow: a right hand lead.

The seventh round knockdown came after some trading, something we didn’t normally see in a Crawford fight.

In the ninth, Terence Crawford as lefty went in. A right uppercut was one of the damaging blows as MM hit the floor 22 seconds in. A sweeping right landed, MM went to the mat, and the ref, Ricky Gonzalez, waved his hands. He saved the loser some brain cells.

“Far more drama than we ever thought we would have, but the champ just acted like one,” said blow by blow man Joe Tessitore.

We look back, did his skill set start to decline? Or nah? We shall see July 29.

Victim No 15: Kell Brook

On 11-14-22, Kell Brook provided a name which looks ok on a resume. His skill set, though, wasn’t prime. In a “bubble” show in Vegas, 36-0 Bud thrashed the declining Brit.

Bud at 33 had much more left than the 34 year old did.

The finale came in round four. A right hand (jab) from lefty Bud timed Brook moving forward, Brook got a mandatory eight from ref Tony Weeks, though he didn’t hit the deck.

Bud licked his lips and bore in. A right hook connected, he was flurrying with Brook on the ropes when Weeks stepped in.

“Slow start, but great finish,” summed up analyst Tim Bradley.

Notes: Terence Crawford had been off a year, with Covid being a dimmer on activity.

“What happened,” asked Brook two minutes after being hammered.

At this juncture, many folks are liking Crawford as the No 1 active fighter, pound for pound.

Brook fought one more time, beating Amir Khan, then hung up the mitts. (As of June 8, 2023.)

Victim No. 16: Shawn Porter

On 11-20-21, it was a big damn deal bout for Bud, with Shawn Porter the standout name on his opponent resume.

It went into round 10 in this “Side of the Street” match, at T-Mobile in Vegas.

The action looked tight, scorecards saw a tight fight. Then Crawford turned up his heat. He’d been respecting the power and aggression of the Ohio native, moving more than we were accustomed to.

In the tenth, Terence Crawford came out of the corner looking bigger, and surlier than Porter. He stepped to Porter, insistent now. Down went Porter, a counter left sat him down less than 20 seconds into the round. He looked irked at himself for getting caught.

Porter looked clear eyed, and continued. So did Bud… A right hook buzzed Porter, to the mat he went.

With about 2 minutes to go, Porter pounded his glove on the canvas, and shook his head, pissed at himself for opening up and leaving himself open for crisp countering. Porter rose at 7, but his night ended, as his father/trainer Kenny Porter pulled the plug.

Ref Thomas Taylor asked, “Do you want to continue,” Taylor asked. “Yes,” said Porter, no hedging. His dad had by then gone on the apron and asked for a halt. The fighter showed his displeasure at the move.

Replay showed Porter launching a power right and a sharp left. Bud stepped to the back/side and hurled his patented left hook. It didn’t connect but the right hook did, clipping the chin.

Porter, age 34, announced his retirement at the postfight presser.

Victim No. 17: David Avanesyan

On 12-10-22,  Terence Crawford needed a fight, as he waited for the Spence fight to get made. So the Nebraskan met Russian-born David Avanesyan, and dispatched him on a BLK Prime card in Omaha.

Bud’s body work is underrated, to set the table on the sixth he strafed Avenesyans’ body with the right.

A left hook exploded on his temple and down he went. The ref, Sparkle Lee, didn’t finish the count because she could see: Avanesyan lay on his back, dancing Tweety birds cackling at him as he tried to piece together the climax.

“Errol Spence Junior, are you watching,” asked blow by blow man Todd Grisham.

Victim No. 18, Errol Spence

On July 29, 2023, Terence Crawford put forth an effort so overwhelming, even those disposed to diss his resume had to acknowledge his excellence.

The Nebraska boxer had a certain countenance in the weeks leading up to the match which suggested he KNEW how this clash would go down. Here’s how it went…Spence went down, and again. Once in round two. Then twice in round seven.

The first knockdown came courtesy a rear hand lead and jab follow. That put a surprised Spence on his bum. In round 7, a right hook from in tight, while Spence tried to press, and a lil second hook follow put the Texan down again.

It could have been called then, in retrospect, because the 33 year old’s face looked bad at this juncture. He fought on, of course.

The second one of the round came from a vicious right hook, more detonated than thrown. It sent a diminished Spence backwards in violent fashion.

Violent is the operative word.

And at 2:32 of the ninth, Referee Harvey Dock stepped in to halt the slaughter. Crawford, who looked like he could fight 30 rounds on this night, landed about 8 clean, hard shots.

This wasn’t a masterclass, it was too brutal for that term. This was a beat-down, conclusive and of a caliber which has forced an appraisal of Crawford from pundits. Bud is an ATG, this “I told ya so” special proved it.

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