Terence Crawford has answered all critics as he begins new boxing chapter

To Terence Crawford, nothing changed.

He had told everyone – willing to listen, that is – how his megafight against Errol Spence was going to play out.

“If you can recall and if you paid attention to the lead-up for years, all of it, I told everybody that I was going to dominate,” Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) told The Post. “I dominated. … I did what I said I was gonna do. The rest is history.”

One of boxing’s most heavily anticipated bouts in years – for the undisputed welterweight title, between the division’s two longtime gatekeepers – quickly turned into a one-sided bludgeoning on July 23, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Crawford knocked Spence down three times before winning by TKO in the ninth round , turning Spence’s face into a swollen, bloodied punching bag.

It marked the first loss of the much-heralded Spence’s (28-1, 22 KOs) career , and made Crawford the first undisputed champion at welterweight in the four-belt era.

It also marked his second undisputed title, after winning all four belts at super lightweight earlier in his career.

Given the stakes and how long that bout had been longed for in the boxing community, Crawford’s win over Spence likely represents the crowning achievement of his illustrious résumé so far.

But despite public perception believing it would be a close bout, it played out just how Crawford promised.

Terence Crawford beats Errol Spence to become one of greatest welterweights ever

So for him, why would anything now be different?

“I was already going into the Hall of Fame before I fought Spence,” Crawford said. “I didn’t need Spence for anything other than undisputed at welterweight and just to beat my archrival in the sport of boxing.

“But other than that, the opinions already were ‘Terence Crawford is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.’ So I wouldn’t say anything has changed. I’m still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

But Crawford, 36, is a unique star.

Though he has dominated the sport his entire career, his soft-spoken, quiet personality has perhaps resulted in him lacking some of the recognition or following and fandom he has deserved.

He’s a foil to the loud, brash stars atop boxing’s hierarchy alongside him, who create headlines beyond their exploits in the ring and relentlessly self-promote.

He faced ample criticism, he said, during his rise through the welterweight division.

Caleb Plant slaps Jermall Charlo at Errol Spence-Terence Crawford weigh-in

So if there were doubts about Crawford previously, he answered them emphatically.

His legacy is firmly cemented.

“I just think that it disproved all the naysayers, all the non-believers, after that particular fight,” Crawford said. “I think everybody knew I had the skills, the ability to be great. I think that one fight just helped everybody with their opinion on who Terence Crawford really is.”

But in the latter stage of his career, Crawford is ready for another new chapter.

Instead of defending his undisputed welterweight title, he is moving up to super welterweight to challenge Israil Madrimov for the WBA title on Saturday (ESPN+ PPV and DAZN PPV, 4:30 p.m. ET) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

As his stardom reaches its apex, he is joining forces with boxing’s biggest-money promoter.

The bout will be the main event of a stacked card presented by Riyadh Season under Turki Alalshikh, the chair of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority who has spent exorbitantly to grow his influence in boxing.

Alalshikh has promoted the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk bout for the undisputed heavyweight title, the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou bout and a plethora of other heavily viewed fights.

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But Saturday’s bout will be the first he has promoted in the United States.

Crawford, who will look to become a four-division champion, said he has no plans of moving back down to welterweight.

Alalshikh has said publicly that he intends to create a lucrative bout between Crawford and the legendary Canelo Alvarez in the future, though it’s unclear how feasible it would be given the difference in weight classes between the two fighters.

First, it’s Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs), a 29-year-old champion without a ton of acclaim or body of work.

That decision – not to rematch Spence, and to next fight someone who isn’t exactly a household name – drew expected criticism.

But at this point, Crawford has heard it all.

He knows exactly who he is.

Boxing certainly should, too.

“No matter what you do, they’re gonna criticize you,” Crawford said. “No matter who you fight, they’re gonna criticize. No matter how you fight, they’re gonna criticize. It just tells how great you are. If nobody criticizes you, if nobody is talking about you, then that’s a problem. If you got a whole bunch of critics critiquing you, you’re doing something right.

“You can’t make everybody happy. You gotta just continue to do what makes you happy. The ultimate goal is to keep winning. Keep winning the fights that are in front of you.”

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