ANALYZING TERENCE CRAWFORD’S NINE-ROUND SURGE THAT DISMANTLED CANELO ALVAREZ’S DEFENSE
Terence Crawford retires as 2025's best after beating Canelo. Plus: Mikaela Mayer, Bivol vs Beterbiev 2, and KO of the Year.
Last September, right as the bell kicked off round nine of Terence Crawford’s super middleweight showdown with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Crawford came out looking like a man on a mission. The first eight rounds? Tight. Competitive. Crawford probably edged most of them, but not by much—he knew he had to step it up. “I had to make sure I set a tone,” he said later. And then he did. Those next three minutes were some of the sharpest of his career. Crawford just took over, out-landing Canelo 33 to 10, according to CompuBox, and that burst basically carried him to the biggest win of his life. It was the kind of victory you don’t forget, and it landed Crawford, at 38, Sports Illustrated’s Male Fighter of the Year.
Usually, one win doesn’t cut it for Fighter of the Year, especially with the competition out there. Naoya Inoue, the undisputed super bantamweight champ, went 4-0 in 2025 and just steamrolled Alan Picasso a month ago. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez picked up two big wins in 115-pound title unifications. Inoue and Rodriguez, like Crawford, are both considered top five pound-for-pound.
But sometimes, a single win is just that important. Crawford beating Canelo was one of those moments. He jumped up two weight classes—really, three, if you count that he’d only fought once at 147 before leaping to 168—and took on Canelo, a guy who’s always been more comfortable at that weight. Canelo still had his spot in boxing’s top 10, even if his last fight against William Scull was a little flat. Most people figured size and strength would be too much for Crawford, especially since he barely squeaked by Israil Madrimov at 154 the year before.
But no, Crawford handled business from the start. Early on, he stung Canelo with jabs. Later, he just stood in the pocket and hammered him with power shots. The fight didn’t end with some highlight-reel knockout like his win over Errol Spence Jr. two years ago, but honestly, try telling anyone this win wasn’t even bigger.
And if this really is it for Crawford—he said he’s retiring in December—he’s going out the way every fighter dreams. Undefeated. Undisputed in three weight classes. Pound-for-pound number one. And SI’s top boxing honour is riding shotgun. Maybe boxing’s seen better fighters in other eras, but in this one? Not many.
Runner Up: Naoya Inoue
Mayer, at 35, pulled off a late-career comeback with two of her best performances ever. She got payback at 147 pounds, beating Sandy Ryan clearly in a rematch of their close 2024 fight, and then dominated 154-pound champ Mary Spencer—even though Mayer spent most of her career at 130. She just bullied the bigger woman. Those wins put her in line for huge unification fights in 2026 and put her right back among the sport’s biggest names.
She barely edged out a stacked field. Claressa Shields became the undisputed heavyweight champ this year. Mizuki Hiruta defended her 115-pound title four times. Gabriela Fundora kept knocking everyone out at 112. Elif Nur Turhan showed up as the next big puncher in women’s boxing.
But Mayer made herself impossible to ignore. She’s had some tough years, losing close ones to Alycia Baumgardner and Natasha Jonas, which left her career in limbo. The move up in weight changed everything—she brought real power with her to fill out her 5'9" frame. This upcoming year? Even bigger. She’s got a shot at unified 147-pound champ Lauren Price, or maybe a rematch with her old rival Baumgardner. Both are huge fights.
Runner Up: Mizuki Hiruta
Death, taxes, and Robert Garcia turning out top fighters. His gym had another monster year. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez added two more belts at 115. Vergil Ortiz got the hardest win of his career against Israil Madrimov, then followed it up with a statement knockout over Erickson Lubin. Raymond Muratalla grabbed a piece of the 135-pound title, and Óscar Duarte moved a step closer to a shot at 140. The best fighters seek out Garcia, and he just keeps making them better.
Runner Up: Shingo Inoue
After years of frustrating negotiations, Bivol and Beterbiev finally met again in February in Saudi Arabia, just four months after their epic 2024 clash. Beterbiev barely grabbed the decision in the first one and started strong in the rematch, looking like he might win even more convincingly. But Bivol flipped the script in the second half with slick footwork and clean, punishing combos. One judge had it a draw, but the other two gave it to Bivol, crowning him the undisputed light heavyweight champ.
Runner Up: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn I
Last June, Norman Jr. defended his 147-pound title for the second time and gave fans the biggest moment of his career so far. He flew out to Japan to take on Jin Sasaki, and from the start, he pretty much owned the fight. Then, in the fifth round, Norman lunged in and smashed Sasaki with a brutal left hook—dropped him cold, right in the centre of the ring. That was the kind of performance Norman needed to really put his name out there, especially with the welterweight division so wide open.
Runner Up: Fabio Wardley knocks out Justis Huni.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
