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[Mario] Hello fight fans around the world. Las Vegas lives for high stakes,
and this is as big as it gets.
For the first time ever, a super fight lands in a stadium in Sin City.
[Mario] This is Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
[thrilling music playing]
[Mario] Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford
have ended each of the past two days staring each other down,
but the next time they meet face-to-face will be right before the bell rings.
All that's left to do is prove who is the best of this era.
This is Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
Canelo Álvarez fans have made it a habit of visiting Vegas
on this weekend every year,
usually to see their beloved native son dominate in the ring.
Does Canelo solidify his place amongst the greatest fighters
of all time tonight?
Or will fans from Omaha, Nebraska,
and all over the United States be the ones cheering
one of their own to victory tonight?
Terence Crawford has never lost before,
and he doesn't intend to start now.
The wait is nearly over.
Two of the pound-for-pound best of this century are set to square off.
Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford has arrived live on Netflix.
This fight's also available in Spanish, Arabic,
French, and Portuguese, truly a worldwide viewing event.
We are just moments away from kicking things off
in the ring with a stacked undercard and hours away from finding out
if Canelo or "Bud" Crawford will have their hand raised.
Welcome to Canelo versus Crawford.
I'm Mario Lopez, alongside five-time champion, Antonio Tarver,
award-winning biographer and analyst, Mark Kriegel,
and Ring magazine's senior insider, Mike Coppinger.
Antonio, the moment is here.
What a fight we are in store for tonight, my man.
Hey, what better way to celebrate Mexican Independence Day
by featuring the fight of the century
and Mexico's own iconic champion, Canelo Álvarez.
But tonight he's facing, I believe, his toughest challenge,
a two-fisted monster Terence Crawford, also undisputed multiple times.
Listen, boxing history favors the bigger guy, the younger guy,
the so-called A-side.
Terence Crawford, he's none of that, but he is the reason we are here.
And tonight, without any rehydration clauses
or catchweights or any of that stuff,
he is the single biggest threat to the legacy of Canelo Álvarez.
Yeah, Mark, and look, these are not just two of the greatest fighters
in boxing right now.
It's two of the greatest fighters of all time, really.
We're talking about Canelo Álvarez,
who's fought everybody from Floyd Mayweather
to Gennady Golovkin and Terence Crawford,
who is so great
that we think he might be able to beat Canelo at 168
when it's just his first fight there.
He hasn't even fought a 160.
We're going to see who's the best of his era.
This fight will say that.
Let's take a look at the main card tonight.
Lightweight start tonight as Mohammed Alakel
takes on Travis Crawford.
WBC Super Middleweight Interim World Championship's up for grabs
as Christian Mbilli faces Lester Martínez.
And in our co-main event, rising Irish star, Callum Walsh,
faces a familiar name to all boxing fans out there, Fernando Vargas Jr.
And in the main event, the undisputed
and Ring magazine's super middleweight championship,
Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez versus Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Antonio, it's always a big night when Canelo enters the ring.
It's always a major event, really.
[Antonio] Most definitely. Again, I'll tell you, fight of the century,
between two of the best fighters of all time.
But what makes Canelo special?
I believe it's his IQ in the ring.
He's been able to adapt to any and every style.
And also, it's his granite chin.
I mean, if you can't hurt the guy, how can you knock him out?
And we've never seen him knocked down or even close to being stopped.
So that's why I believe he's a special talent
and has a great chance
of solidifying himself completely tonight.
[Mario] He was walking into the ring very, very confident.
Let's take a look inside the numbers.
Canelo has 39 knockouts in 67 career fights
for a 62% KO rate.
He's 23-2-1 in world title fights,
a four-division champ and has been pound-for-pound
for 12 years strong for a reason, Mike.
[Mike] Yeah, look, Antonio mentioned it.
Canelo Álvarez has incredible power.
He's knocked out James Kirkland and Amir Khan and Sergey Kovalev,
a 175, with a single punch,
and he broke Billy Joe Saunders' face.
Terence Crawford is there to be hit, and if he can't take Canelo's best shot,
it could be a quick night.
Well, that is a huge factor.
Although, Mark, never in boxing history has a man been "the man"
at 135 and at 168 pounds.
Roberto Durán was the last to do it all the way from lightweight to 160,
but not 168.
Crawford's last fight was two weights down.
He did a quick pit stop at 154.
How can he be so confident in moving up for this challenge?
There's never been another Terence Crawford.
He's the greatest switch hitter in the history of the game.
Genius-level boxing IQ.
As smart as he is, though, that's how mean he is.
If he gets you hurt, he's going to finish you.
I think that really the strongest asset that he does have, though,
is his self-belief.
We're here because he would not say no.
He met with Turki Alalshikh 13 months ago, he goes, "I want Canelo."
He goes, "What about Vergil Ortiz?"
"What about… I want Canelo, and only Canelo."
And that is why we are here, because he believes he can win.
[Mario] True, his IQ is off the charts, and his confidence level is sky high.
Crawford has 31 knockouts in 41 fights for a 76% knockout rate.
He's an incredible 19-0 in world title fights.
He's also a four-division world champion from lightweight to super welterweight,
and has spent ten consecutive years in the pound-for-pound top ten,
the longest active streak by any fighter.
Only Manny Pacquiao has ever done it longer.
And Mike, obviously those are very, very impressive numbers,
but numbers don't exactly win fights.
No, they don't, Mario, but look,
Terence Crawford, every time he moves up in weight,
he gets even better.
He was a very good puncher at 135 and 140,
but at 147, he knocked everybody out.
And maybe he's that rare guy who can carry that power up to 168.
We saw his body, his physique. He is ready.
And I think Crawford's one of the all-time greats.
I'm excited for this one, Mario.
Hey, Crawford, one of my favorite fighters.
You know, I'm Bud County all the way.
And what makes him special, I believe, is his belief in himself.
-You know-- -No.
No, it's his belief in himself.
And when you say, a lot of people say, we got a killer, we got a monster.
No, Crawford is a killer
when it comes down to stepping in that ring and handling business.
Yeah, and he's a strong guy, Mark. That's the thing.
You're not gonna be able just to move him around in there.
He's got a wrestling background.
He's got that country strength, if you will.
He's got wrestling strength, and he's always had it.
I'm very curious to see
if he can manhandle Canelo on the inside.
By the way, one of the most undercovered aspects of this week,
Canelo's coach, Eddy Reynoso, trainer, said, "We're going to knock him out."
-That's a development. -That's a bold statement right there.
Let's welcome right now though, Hall of Fame journalist
Jim Gray, who is covering Canelo and his camp all night.
Jim.
Hey, Mario, great to be with you.
I spoke to Canelo Álvarez a bit earlier.
He said he spent the entire day just relaxing at the hotel,
watching television, watching golf on television.
Said it was just a normal fight day, a very, very long day.
He also spent the day eating and hydrating.
He weighed in yesterday at 167.5 pounds.
I asked him, what are you going to weigh when you get into the ring tonight?
He said he's going to gain about seven to ten pounds,
expects to come in the ring somewhere between 175 and 181.
I asked him if he's nervous.
He says, "I am not nervous at all. I'm never nervous."
This is what I love to do.
I also asked him about the risk of this fight.
He said "Hey, look, Terence Crawford is 41-0
but he's never fought me.
So we'll have to see if that record still holds."
Finally we ended our conversation like we always do.
I said, "Canelo, are you ready?"
And he said, "Born ready."
Mario, back to you.
[Mario] Thank you very much, Jim. I believe him.
-[upbeat music playing] -We're just moments away from
our first fight of the evening and as the sun begins to set here
in Vegas, the city lights up the desert for a once-in-a-lifetime event.
This is Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
[music concludes]
[exciting music playing]
[Jon] Dateline Las Vegas, and perhaps it goes without saying,
a fight of this magnitude deserves to play out in this capital city of fighting.
The stakes could not possibly be raised any higher tonight.
Two of boxing's biggest, baddest, and best stars collide
with the entire sports world watching.
What a fight week it has been.
Here was the scene at the Grand Arrivals Tuesday.
Both Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford celebrated
with all the deserved fanfare for what they have accomplished,
and of course, what is still to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Canelo versus Crawford,
live on Netflix.
[music concludes]
["Stranglehold" playing]
[Josh] Go back across decades, into the last century.
[commentator 1] Iron Mike Tyson.
[Josh] Only 17 men can claim to have been the best.
[commentator 2] …César Chávez!
[analyst] Nobody can stop this guy.
[Josh] They don't normally fight each other,
much less move up a division, or in this case two, to do it.
Terence Crawford isn't normal, and neither is Canelo Álvarez.
In the long and glorious history of Mexican fighters,
Canelo stands alone.
[commentator 3] Canelo's looking to close the show.
[commentator 4] It is over. Canelo gets the knockout win.
[Josh] Not merely a four-division champion,
but the first fighter of any era to become undisputed at 168 pounds.
[commentator 5] Down goes Plant, and this one is over.
[Josh] And for more than a decade now, boxing's biggest draw.
Elegance, and devastation.
[commentator 6] The pound-for-pound king with another win.
[Josh] A global sports leading man, even this night,
a celebration of Mexican independence, has long belonged to Canelo.
[commentators cheer]
[Josh] And that's exactly why Terence Crawford made him his target.
Crawford, too, is one of one.
And like Canelo, consumed with his legacy.
I'm all about making history. I'm going to be on Mount Rushmore.
[Josh] The first man in the four-belt era to become undisputed in two divisions.
[commentator 6] "Bud" Crawford is the undefeated,
undisputed champion of the world!
[Josh] First, 140 then welterweight.
[commentator 6] Terence "Bud" Crawford is undisputed again!
[Josh] Forty-one and 0. Never even been down.
The greatest switch hitter in the history of boxing, and likely the meanest.
[commentator 7] Oh! Crawford gets him!
[Josh] A pure predator, eager to hunt way above his weight.
[commentator 7] Oh, my!
[Josh] Less for money than the glory.
Not just Canelo's,
but all that has eluded him over the years.
[commentator 8] That man is the best in the world.
[Josh] If tonight's the harbinger of a new age,
it's less about making a fight than making history.
Still, how they fight will determine how they're remembered.
[Canelo] It's gonna be one of the best fights in the boxing history.
[Josh] A once-in-a-lifetime fight has arrived,
deciding to whom this young century belongs.
Live on Netflix, from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada,
this is Canelo versus Crawford, and it starts right now.
[song concludes]
[thrilling music playing]
[Jon] Las Vegas, Nevada, is the epicenter of the sports world.
Tonight, we are inside the home of the Las Vegas Raiders,
hosting boxing for the first time in its history.
Live from Allegiant Stadium, here in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA,
this is Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
What a scene inside Allegiant Stadium, and as you know, the best is yet to come.
And with that, I'm Jon Anik.
Thank you so much for being with us for this special live event on Netflix.
So, all-time greatness can be hard to quantify in a sport
with a history as rich as boxing, but Canelo Álvarez
and Terence "Bud" Crawford certainly qualify.
So how fortunate, then,
that these two absolute giants of the game remain hungry
with points to prove in search of further immortality.
As such, and rather remarkably,
this super fight has come and held together,
and one way or another, by night's end, boxing history will never be the same.
An honor to welcome in my broadcast partners,
the legend Max Kellerman,
fellow legend, the Hall of Famer Andre Ward.
-Countdown is on, Andre, here we are. -Here we are.
I'm excited as I've been, and I can't remember the last time.
Maybe Mayweather-Pacquiao is when I felt this feeling.
And it's not just because it's a big event,
but this is a real super fight that has not been manufactured,
and it's because you got two real guys across the ring from one another.
They've been stubborn about their greatness for a long time.
Neither fighter wants to give in any category,
and you just got the feel.
It's in the air tonight that we got a great event,
but more so a great fight on our hands.
Right, because real super fights can't be promoted into existence.
The way they come about is the dust settles in an era
and two guys are left standing.
In one corner, undefeated Terence "Bud" Crawford
fighting for upper echelon boxing immortality.
In other corner, Canelo Álvarez, the face of boxing.
The two left standing in their era, a real super fight.
Boxing could not have better ambassadors than Canelo Álvarez
and Terence "Bud" Crawford.
They will share that ring here in a matter of hours.
Let us start with the man who will occupy the red corner, the face of boxing,
Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez.
[Max] Yeah, and the question early in Canelo's career is,
is he the real deal or not?
Or is he just a guy being hyped up to exploit the Mexican boxing audience?
That market? Oh, no, he was the real deal.
And he really established that when he went through Triple G,
the boogeyman of middleweight division,
where he left no doubt at the end of their three-fight series.
He didn't just inherit the mantle of "the face of boxing"
from Mayweather, he earned it.
[Jon] And the challenger tonight, moving up to 168, Andre Ward,
is Terence Crawford.
[Andre] Terence Crawford is a guy who hasn't been given anything in the sport.
He comes from Omaha, Nebraska.
Not many fighters that you know of that come from Omaha, Nebraska.
He put the state and the city on the map.
And he's constantly been questioned
and doubted throughout the course of his career.
He asked for this moment. Turki Alalshikh gave it.
Canelo Álvarez obliged.
He has to show that tonight he can deliver.
[Jon] All right, so this undeniably is a super fight as we look back
at some other notable ones in modern history.
Some of you remember the fight of the century,
Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, back in March of 1971.
The "Rumble in the Jungle," George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, October 30th 1974.
Hagler and Hearns, the spring of '85.
Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson engaging for the first time in 1997.
Of course, Mayweather-Pacquiao, ten years ago,
and now we arrive at the monster that is Canelo versus Crawford.
Boxing is the centerpiece of the sports world tonight.
We do not take your viewership for granted.
Great to have you with us off the top. Canelo versus Crawford is live on Netflix.
[music fades]
[epic music playing]
[Jon] What an absolute scene inside Allegiant Stadium
for Canelo versus Crawford.
A lot of people believe architecturally
this building is custom-made for combat sports as any stadium could be.
And we are thrilled to have you spending your Saturday night with us.
We kick off the main card in the lightweight division.
Mighty Mo, Mohammed Alakel, determined to kick down the door
and make his name a global one in the sport of boxing,
but out of the blue corner is the battle-tested Travis Crawford,
disinclined to be anyone's stepping stone.
Mighty Mohammed Alakel is stepping outside his comfort zone
for the first time, leaving Riyadh
to fight under the bright lights of Las Vegas.
The unbeaten Saudi prospect has yet to lose a round as a pro,
and now he's skipping straight past the eight-round stage
and diving into his first scheduled ten-rounder.
It's a massive leap for a fighter still learning on the job,
though now he's guided by Abel Sanchez,
the same trainer who once shaped Gennady Golovkin
into a feared knockout artist.
This early in my career,
I'm excited to show all the hard work I've been putting throughout the years
since I was a little kid. And, you know,
people can actually see my talent and the hard work.
[Jon] In his bracket tonight stands Travis "Kid Corpus" Crawford,
a tough Texan with nothing to lose, and everything to prove.
He's been through streaks and setbacks alike,
but for Crawford this is not just another fight, it is his last.
Two weeks later, he ships out for Army basic training,
so as such this marks his retirement bout and his final chance
to walk away from the ring with hand raised.
For Alakel, it's about proving he belongs on this big stage.
For Crawford, it's about ending a rather turbulent career on his own terms.
We're both exciting.
We're both really technical fighters. We're both technical boxers.
But I know what I bring, and I'm excited for it.
Every time I fight, it's always been fireworks.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Well, with all the pageantry you would expect
for a live event of this magnitude,
we get ready for our first main card walkout.
It is Travis "Kid Corpus" Crawford.
Heidi Androl with us all night.
Now, Crawford wanted this fight initially. It did not go his way,
but when Mohammed Alakel's opponent was forced to pull out,
the call came around,
and now Crawford is trying to barge through the door
and spring what would be a monumental upset.
[Heidi] What a moment for this guy, Jon.
Travis Crawford started boxing at ten, placed third in the Texas Golden Gloves.
Now, at just 22,
he's chasing one last win before a new fight begins.
He's trained in Texas,
and his coach calling him a good kid with a good heart.
Crawford steps into the ring with unique stakes.
On September 30th, he ships out for Army basic training,
aiming to become a Ranger.
He once tried to join the Marines, but hand tattoos ruled that out.
No regrets. He says fighting is in his blood,
and now he wants to fight for something greater.
I spoke to him at this week's Open Workout,
and he said boxing is about legacy, and his will be defined by service,
sacrifice, and heart, both in and out of the ring, guys.
[Max] And what this circumstance makes this fight for Crawford,
and we're not talking Bud Crawford here.
-[Jon] No, we're not. -[Max] This is his title shot.
There's no title on the line.
It's not that kind of fight. He's fighting a novice professional.
But this is his shot on the big stage.
[Jon] He is about to go into U.S. Army basic training on September 30th.
You might have heard some of that in the feature, but…
We said to him, "Well, what if you beat Mohammed Alakel,
who is all the rage coming in here tonight,
has tremendous support from His Excellency in Saudi Arabia?"
"What if you win?"
And Travis said, "Well, I'm not going to close the book on boxing completely,
but this is a kid who always aspired to be a Marine."
He was disqualified from that initiative because of his hand tattoos,
so he's going into the infantry. He wants to become an Army Ranger,
and we appreciate the heck out of his service.
We'll see what he has to offer
the sweet science here tonight on the way out.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Representing Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Here is Mohammed Alakel making the walk for his sixth professional fight.
And, Mike Coppinger, I know you have followed the early portions of his career.
This kid has a wisdom and a maturity and a confidence
that belies his 21 years on the planet.
[Mike] Yeah, absolutely, Jon, and Mighty Mo, you see him there
with Abel Sanchez who also trains another Saudi fighter
who won earlier on the show in Sultan Al Muhammad.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has a dream
and that is to crown the first champion from Saudi Arabia.
Mighty Mo well on his way.
He fought just 28 days ago so he's staying sharp and active.
[Andre] I like Alakel and very, very impressive
that he left his comfort zone to go live, not just train,
-but to go live in Big Bear. -[Mike] Right.
[Andre] I'm not sure you could pay me any amount of money
to go live in Big Bear, California, but I tip my hat to this young man.
He's dedicating himself, he's dedicating his life
because he wants to be a champion and a star.
[Jon] And, Max, he really talks like a thinking man's fighter,
even though his last fight only lasted two minutes and 26 seconds.
He was patient. He walked him down.
It's gonna be very interesting to see how far Alakel can take this career.
[Max] And what I see,
when Coppinger mentioned Turki Alalshikh,
is looking to crown a champion from Saudi Arabia,
who are these guys with?
-They're with Abel Sanchez. -[Jon] Right.
[Max] Like Sultan al-Muhammad…
this kid fights in the Abel Sanchez mold,
which I would describe as ruthless boxer-puncher.
[Jon] I like that.
And the great Roberto Durán also has a presence
in the life of Mohammed Alakel.
Biggest moment of his professional life beckons right now in Las Vegas.
And to that end, we get to the tale of the tape
for our lightweight opener.
Travis Crawford back in the weight class in which he belongs.
Alakel, 21. Crawford, 22.
Inch and a half the difference in height,
no issues on the scale for a couple of professionals here on Friday.
Three inches in reach
with the Scotland-based Saudi Arabian-born Mohammed Alakel.
All right, now for the introductions. the venerable Michael Buffer.
-[bell rings] -[Michael] Ladies and gentlemen,
good evening and welcome to Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
and the Riyadh Season card featuring the fight of the century.
Canelo versus Crawford and it's all live globally on Netflix.
A spectacular evening of world class professional boxing
for your entertainment.
Special thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and the custodian of the two holy mosques,
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman,
and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority
and Saudi Boxing Federation, His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh.
This contest and all the bouts tonight presented by Riyadh Season
with the General Entertainment Authority.
And it's all live worldwide on Netflix.
All bouts sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, let's get this party started!
This is the first bout of the evening.
The three judges at ringside, Max DeLuca, David Sutherland, and Don Trella.
And inside the ring in charge of the action at the bell,
your referee, Robert Hoyle.
And now for the Riyadh Season card, live on Netflix,
ten rounds of boxing in the lightweight division.
Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
wearing white with red, official weight,
132.5 pounds.
As a professional, seven victories to his credit with two knockouts.
He has four losses.
From Corpus Christi, Texas,
he is Travis "Kid Corpus" Crawford!
[crowd cheering]
[Michael] And across the ring, fighting out of the red corner,
wearing white with green, officially weighing in at 132 pounds.
His professional record is a perfect one.
Five fights, five victories, a KO to his credit,
making his debut here in the United States
from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the undefeated
Mighty Muhammad Alakel.
[crowd cheering]
Coach.
Okay, we went over the rules in the dressing room.
I want you to obey my commands. Give me a good, clean fight.
All punches that land here on the waistline are good.
All that land here are good. Touch them up. Scoot back.
[Jon] All right, here we go. Main card opener live on Netflix,
Travis Crawford.
-Taking on the highly touted… -[bell rings]
[Jon] …Saudi Arabian prospect, Mohammed Alakel.
Alakel is in green. Crawford counters in white.
Early right hand over the top lands for Alakel.
[Max] Abel Sanchez, Alakel's trainer…
teaches responsible boxing, but wants you to apply it aggressively.
[Andre] The long range jab from Alakel.
Most of the young fighters that we've seen tonight
that like to be aggressive and that have a heavy punch about them,
they don't use that punch.
I like Alakel trying to set up his offense with that left hand.
[Jon] Very educated lead hand from Muhammad Alakel.
He is long, he is sharp,
he is fast, and he's off to an outstanding,
rangy start here against Crawford.
[Max] See, early Alakel's using that speed with instincts
to punch back when he's punched at.
To answer right away.
[Mike] Alakel's father took him to a gym in Edinburgh, Scotland,
when he was ten years old.
He has now lived there for an extended period of time.
But he kept saying in our fighter meeting just to be in control of everything.
He fights in a very controlled manner as he rips the body
and now combos up top.
[Max] And he also has real speed, guys.
What I always look for in prospects is the fast twitches, right?
Do they have that kind of electric speed? He does.
[indistinct chatter]
[Jon] Crawford with a high guard. One minute now to go round one.
[Andre] Tell Crawford's a bit discouraged already, even in this first round,
just not being able to reach Alakel and get inside of those long arms.
[Jon] Right hand lands over the top for Alakel,
and now he rips the body.
[Andre] It's no better outside the house for Crawford,
so it's better for him
to try to get inside the house to see if he can get something moving there,
because standing outside the house is a lot dangerous, too.
He's getting hit with big shots from the outside.
[Max] But that's what I mean about speed, like elite hand speed, Dre.
Alakel is throwing one-twos and catching them with right hands
in the middle of the ring
when Crawford's in responsible defensive position.
He's got that kind of speed.
[Jon] First ten-round fight for Mohammad Alakel.
Previous long was six.
This is also his first fight outside the kingdom of Riyadh.
[referee] Ten seconds.
-[bell rings] -[referee] Time!
[upbeat music playing]
[trainer] Are you loosened up? You loose already?
We gotta close that gap, okay? Right now he's setting his timing.
He's getting comfortable. We can't do that.
-We gotta work, okay? -[Tavis] Yes, sir.
Gotta close that distance.
When you're throwing that jab, amigo, push up on the jab, all right?
Try to throw it a little bit too low. Push up.
You gotta start doubling up on the jab so you can close.
I need that right foot a little bit more out,
so you have a better sense of balance,
and you can distribute that right hand. That double jab.
-Sí. -Okay?
[Jon] Well, this is not the only epic battle happening on Netflix.
The final season of the iconic Stranger Things
is going to turn the world upside down one last time this holiday season.
Don't miss the start of the final chapter
when volume one premieres November 26th,
followed by volume two on Christmas Day
and the series finale on New Year's Eve, only on Netflix.
["Stranger Things" plays, fades]
[bell rings]
[Jon] All right, round two of a possible ten.
Mohammed Alakel in green, Travis Crawford in white.
[Andre] What I mean for Crawford being outside of the house,
meaning the inside of the house is closer range.
He's gotta sell out to get there, because it's nasty right now outside.
It's raining.
[Max] It's just a bad neighborhood, right?
-[Andre] It's all bad. -[Max] It's a bad neighborhood.
[Jon] Yeah, he's allergic to bees. It's a nest.
[Andre] You got to get inside the house,
but he has to because that's happening now.
These punches are starting to move him. He's clearly getting hurt by these shots.
He's got to double up a jab.
Throw the jab two or three times and rush in.
And he may get hit with a shot, but that's a safer place to be.
He could possibly get some offense going
instead of just being a catcher right now on the outside.
[Max] It's not that Alakel can't throw crooked shots, bent shots.
But he optimizes his speed by throwing those straight shots,
those straight one-twos.
Already with the hand speed,
but the shortest distance between two points is that straight line.
[Andre] I think Alakel is quicker than he is fast.
The one-two, the quick hook.
-It gets to the point… Just like that. -[Max] Yep.
[Andre] If he throws five or six combinations,
that may not look fast,
but he gets to point A and point B very quickly.
[Jon] It's great technique. I mean, those jabs straight as an arrow.
[Max] I'll tell you what, he got shook up
with the right hand just then, Alakel.
[Andre] That's because Crawford is pressing more.
He's making Alakel fight on his back foot,
which he did not do the first round and a half.
[Max] And he punched with Alakel. When a guy is that much faster,
you got to use timing and try to catch him in an exchange,
which is how Crawford landed the right hand.
[Jon] Short uppercut as Crawford tries to close the distance.
Under 90 seconds to go, round two.
Fight slightly looking a little different now that Crawford's getting closer.
[Max] Yep, it was that good uppercut from Alakel,
but that right hand from Crawford
definitely changed the tenor of this round.
[Jon] Once again, the jab of Alakel is heard from.
[indistinct chatter]
[Jon] Body shot is there for Alakel,
who was a little bit understated here during fight week,
but when the lights come on, ready for prime time.
[Max] He struck me as a young man who's just about business.
-[Jon] Yes. Right, right. -[Max] You know, he's not messing around.
[Andre] Well, he said as much. He said, "I don't really like doing this.
I don't really want to talk to you guys.
I appreciate being here, but I just want to fight."
Stop, stop. I got you. Thank you.
[Jon] Some numbers, unofficial through a round and a bit.
[Max] Crawford's doing a better job this round.
[Jon] Good level change.
Alakel attacking the body late in round two.
[Max] Thought that was the best punch of the fight for him so far.
Left hook to the body.
-[bell rings] -[Jon] All right, two rounds down.
[upbeat music playing]
Okay, another very good round. I just would like to see a nice body shot,
but I want to see a hook back on top, okay?
So double them up. Very, very good round. Deep breath.
Deep breath. Okay.
Jab's got to be important.
When you're backing up, I want to see that jab and I want to see a fade.
Make him stop. Make him stop. Don't let him come to you. Make him stop.
Okay.
[upbeat music playing]
Let him stop. That jab, that kick, that hook.
As soon as he starts coming forward,
you've got to give him a little fade to make him stop. Okay.
And that body shot is great, but I've got to see something on top of it.
[Jon] Legendary director Guillermo del Toro
is bringing us the ultimate monster movie,
Frankenstein, starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth,
and Christoph Waltz.
Frankenstein is coming to Netflix on November 7th.
-[upbeat music continues] -[whistle blows]
[Jon] So, Mohammed Alakel, at this stage of his career, he is green,
but he has not lost a single round
-on a single scorecard. -[bell rings]
[trainer] There we go.
[Jon] So, let's see the extent to which Travis Crawford
can challenge him here. Round three is upon us.
[Max] I don't know if Crawford catches him with a right hand like that, Dre,
just coming in one-two.
I think he may have to try to time him in an exchange to land that right hand.
-[Andre] He just did that. -[Max] Yeah.
[Andre] But clearly when Crawford is pressing forward
and doesn't throw and then stop and allow Alakel to land the shots
on the outside like he's been, he's having a lot more success.
Max, you talk a lot-- Talk a lot about fighters computing things
and how quickly a fighter can figure something out.
Crawford figured that out pretty quickly. It took a full round,
but that's what high-level boxing at every level is about.
Something isn't working, let me do something different.
Oh, that works, I'm going to stick with it.
[Max] That's why in our main event tonight in the super fight,
Canelo-Crawford, the reason they're the two guys left standing
from that era is they have the deepest bags.
-They make the best adjustments. -[Jon] Yeah, right.
[Jon] Luey Villarreal has done an outstanding job with Travis Crawford.
Under two minutes here to go in round two.
[Andre] Crawford had more success
if he took his lead hand, stuck that out, and then threw some of the shots
like he just tried to throw there. He's leading with shots and he's landing.
How much more if he didn't, if he came behind the jab?
[Max] It looked to me from here like he landed
a good right uppercut. But Alakel back
-with a good right hand of his own. -[Andre] A good answer.
[Jon] Body shot is there for Crawford, not much on it.
[Max] Oh, good right uppercut from Alakel.
That might have been the best punch of the fight for him so far.
[Jon] His vision's outstanding.
Shot selection pretty good for Alakel thus far tonight,
under a minute to go, round three.
[Andre] Alakel's landing some good body shots.
These first two and a half minutes--
Excuse me, two and a half rounds, and Crawford should do the same.
Alakel's got a long torso. He's got a lot to hit down there.
See, that body's open right now. There you go.
[Max] We've seen all night on this undercard,
even when the so-called A-side comes in favored,
they are good competitive fights. And the B-side has scored
-some upsets already. -[Andre] Yep.
[Max] You can see that Crawford did not show up to lose,
and he is reaching Alakel with some real shots
in these first three rounds.
[Jon] Nice left hand a moment ago by Travis Crawford.
Trying to give the unbeaten Mohammed Alakel a real challenge.
-Nine minutes-- -[bell rings]
Time!
Good round, son. Deep breath.
-Deep breath. Deep breath. -Good.
-How's your energy level? -Good.
-You're good? Okay. -[trainer] Big deep breaths.
Start throwing that jab, man.
When you throw the perfect jab, it's working, son.
You're backing him up, but you're just not following through.
-You have to come back with that two. -[coughs]
Again, put the right foot up, you know, throw the two with some power.
Slip his jab and counter that two, what we worked on, okay?
-Breathe deep. -It's there, son. It's there.
[Jon] We're in Las Vegas, Nevada
for Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
What cannot these drones do?
One of them nearly buzzed Andre Ward during our rehearsal yesterday.
Allegiant Stadium opening its doors to boxing for the first time
in this amazing venue's history here on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
-[whistle blows] -[Jon] And the stars have aligned
for Canelo and Crawford
now just a couple of hours away live on Netflix.
[bell rings]
[Max] These nights in this amazing venue's history.
But the venue hasn't been around long enough
to have an amazing history yet.
-[referee] No, no! Stop! -[Max] To have an amazing history yet.
-It is an amazing venue. -[referee] Let's go.
[Max] But nights like tonight,
Canelo-Crawford, is how you create an amazing history
-in a venue like this. -[Jon] No doubt.
And despite 70,000 seats, you really feel an intimacy,
which I think plays well for combat. Round four, Alakel and Crawford.
[Max] It feels more like
an arena on steroids than it does a stadium.
[Andre] Good lead hook from Alakel, disciplining Crawford
for getting reckless and reaching toward him.
[Jon] Coach Skipper Kelp with us all night.
Skipper, how do you have it through three?
[Skipper] I have a three-nothing for Alakel.
He's controlling the distance and the fight from the outside,
but Crawford can get in and get some work in, he just
has to make a better attempt, maybe off of a bunch of jabs to get close.
[Jon] All right, thank you, Skip.
Yeah, we'll see if Crawford can remain committed.
Got his way inside there.
[Max] And it was when Alakel was going to punch.
I don't think Crawford has the speed just to make it happen on his own,
although Skipper makes a good point, when you work your way in behind the jab.
But if he punches with Alakel in the exchanges,
to me it seems is where he's catching him.
[Andre] Now, it's time for Alakel to make another adjustment.
Crawford made one.
Now, Alakel has to make one.
It's the thinking that goes into fighting.
[Max] What's the adjustment Alakel has to make, Andre?
[Andre] He either has to be disciplined to stay outside
and let that be where the fight's going to be fought,
or if he's mid-range, like right there, let those shots go,
but don't give Crawford anything in return
because when Crawford lands, he gets confident.
And don't abandon the body work that he started in the first round.
[Jon] More linear than lateral movement out of Alakel here.
Round four goes under a minute.
[Max] I like that from Alakel just then, Andre.
He kind of varied the speed
to match his opponent's rhythm so he didn't waste his offense.
And wound up landing a little left uppercut on the inside
instead of just missing something big.
[Jon] Crawford able to partially land to the body.
A lot of defensive responsibility out of Alakel
and shows a nice moment offensively there.
[Andre] Yeah, that was a good body shot right there.
He got Crawford's attention and he hasn't thrown a punch since.
[Max] That's what he called for and he ripped it from the right hand.
-[bell rings] -Time!
[Jon] All Alakel through four.
[upbeat music playing]
Another great round.
Now, you're throwing a nice little hook on top,
gonna see that right hook on the top too, okay?
When you get close, okay?
Deep breath.
You're doing great. You're looking good.
Just don't take loans on me, okay?
Be first. Don't take loans on me.
[trainer] Always finish good.
At 30 seconds, you start to work.
Don't let him take it away from you.
Just finish the round is what he's trying to tell you.
All right? You understand that, right? Number one.
[Jon] Omaha, Nebraska's Terence "Bud" Crawford…
-[crowd cheering] -…being shown in-house
for the first time here at Allegiant Stadium.
Moments ago, he arrived in advance of the biggest fight
of his professional life, trying to head back to Cornhusker country
at 42-0, with yet more rarefied air.
-[round bell ringing] -[Jon] And as a professional boxer,
here we go, though, as the undercard continues now.
Mohammed Alakel and Travis Crawford, round five.
Alakel right back to work off of that straight jab.
[Andre] Coach Abel Sanchez seems to like everything that Alakel is doing.
Gave him a few instructions, but he said, that's another good round.
Oh, beautiful.
[Jon] Not necessarily combinations,
but Alakel makes a lot of these single shots count,
and Crawford just has been rendered reactionary,
not a whole lot coming back.
[Andre] Well, the reason for that is because you see that punch.
The left hand, the lead hand,
the closest hand to the opponent is starting to wake back up.
Alakel got away from that in round three and round four.
[Max] I also think what you said earlier about the body drag,
when Alakel's all upstairs and Crawford can time it
and get in there and punch with him, it's one thing.
But when those combinations come downstairs, too,
it gives him something else to think about.
[Andre] It's a bad day for you when you've got a fighter
that can rip shots to the body
and to the head and then back to the body. It's a problem.
[Jon] Oh! Beautiful left hook by Alakel. Got Crawford's attention.
[Max] Well, Crawford thought the one-two was all there was,
and there was a third punch behind it that caught him with it.
[Jon] Crawford starting to bleed a little bit,
perhaps out of the nose or so it appears.
Just over a minute here to go round five. Short uppercut is there for Alakel.
[Andre] Nice up jab right there, meaning it starts on the thigh
and you just shoot it up.
You don't have to bring it back in its normal, traditional position.
It's a hard shot to defend against.
[Max] Hard to see coming.
[Andre] It's a shot that most coaches don't teach.
[Jon] Crawford just now able to draw a smile out of Alakel.
I think that's the first time I saw Mighty Mo smile
throughout this entire fight week.
[Max] I mean, Crawford's doing little things in there that are good.
He's looking off right hands. He just did it there.
But he's dealing with a speed deficit.
[Andre] Crawford's got to make up his mind that he's going to go.
He has moments, but they're not sustained.
[Max] Yeah, I mean, that's another thing that separates levels, right, Andre?
You're making adjustments,
but how quickly can you make and implement adjustments?
[Andre] And then another one, if need be.
-[bell rings] -Time!
[upbeat music playing]
[Andre] Another wrinkle that Alakel showed.
He tried the overhand right.
When that doesn't work, take a half step back and shoot it underneath.
That's good stuff right there. Good combination from Alakel.
Crawford reached, missed that same uppercut
that he just landed,
but that's okay because Alakel followed it back up
with the hook to get himself out of danger.
[coach] You understand? Like, you had him in this corner.
That was your time. Sit down. You're still standing up.
You need to sit down on those shots.
That left foot, let's start working that left foot.
[trainer] How you feeling? You're winning every round backing him up.
[coach] When you back them up, that's when we're successful, okay?
We're not successful in the middle of the ring.
We're successful when you're backing them up.
-[trainer] Let's go. -[whistling]
[referee] Let's go!
[bell rings]
[Jon] All right, here we go. Round six. Mohammed Alakel and Travis Crawford.
It did appear as though when Crawford had Alakel up
against the ropes in round five, there was a right hand that just missed.
Could have been consequential.
[Max] Alakel has not scored a lot of knockouts as a pro
in his young career.
Andre, sometimes a prospect has to get what they used to call
his man bones, right, before he could really…
start sitting down on those punches. They have greater effect.
Do you see any of that here, or is there some other reason
that you see that Alakel is not getting stoppages
based on this fight.
[Andre] I think he has the speed slash quickness that we talked about.
I think he punches hard enough. I think it's more of a temperament thing.
We've seen young fighters tonight not have to be told to be aggressive,
not have to be told to follow up after they land a good combination.
The same way Alakel was in our fighter meeting,
just even keel, very matter of fact and calm.
He's the same way as a fighter, at least at this stage in his career.
[Jon] All right, two minutes to go, round six.
Skipper Kelp, what do you see through five and a half?
[Skipper] Well, I see Crawford at least attempting to do
what his trainers told him to, get inside and work.
You see he's pushing forward a lot more aggressively now.
[indistinct chatter]
[Andre] That's the zone, even though Crawford just got hit
with a two piece and another two piece
and another single shot that he wants to be in.
He wants to be as close to Alakel as possible,
punch with him, like Max said earlier, and lead.
He wants to lead and also punch with the young fighter
in hopes that he can land a big shot.
[Max] Right. His best shot seems to be in an exchange.
His best shot to do something big. And by the way, in this round,
he's hit Alakel cleanly with some good shots.
[Andre] Yeah, because he's doing just what we talked about.
[Max] Although Alakel took a little, it seemed to discourage him a little bit
by firing back and landing probably the best shots of the round.
Maybe 30 seconds ago.
[Jon] Crawford on the inside lands to the body,
pays for with the right hand from Alakel.
[Andre] Crawford has a good combination. Maybe one of those four landed,
but then he stands there and takes a picture and looks at Alakel,
-and Alakel answers back. -[Max] Right.
[Andre] He wants to punch and get out of range
where Alakel cannot get a punch in return.
[Max] Crawford doing some good work this round.
Let him go. Let him go.
[Jon] Definitely committed to the cause.
Good right hand by Crawford there.
[Max] And at this point, it looks like he's just trying to will it.
Crawford, I'm just going to come forward and start throwing.
[Andre] I think that's his only chance to win.
[Max] Alakel not really biting on any of Crawford's feints.
However, few and far between. Good body shot by Kid Corpus.
[Andre] Crawford keeps doing a veteran move.
Most rounds, he'll drift back to his corner
-because he wants to be… -[bell rings]
…in his corner when the bell rings, so I don't have to walk.
I want Alakel to take that long walk back to his corner.
He's done that multiple times.
Okay, good try to close. I don't want you to get to ropes, okay?
I don't want you to get to ropes. Hey, look at me.
This is your showcase right here. Don't let it get to you, all right?
He's exhausted too. He's tired. Okay?
You just gotta make sure that you keep him at the end of your punches.
All right? Good pace in this fight. Both of you are doing real well.
You're doing better,
but you gotta keep him at the end of your punches.
Don't let him get you around here.
You're doing very well.
-Don't get stuck in the ropes. -Just don't get stuck in the ropes.
[Jon] All right, here's the tale
of this live event production here tonight.
North of 600 crew members working on this event.
New arena weight record from the ceiling north 400 and 1,000 pounds.
Two hundred and fifty rigging motors. On and on it goes.
Sixty-five total cameras.
-We also are producing… -[bell rings]
…the first fully produced on-site Spanish broadcast
for a live Netflix event.
All hands on deck for the biggest boxing event of the year.
[Max] You know what perked my ears up just now
in the corner, Alakel's corner?
Abel Sanchez used one word. He said, "he's exhausted too,"
which means Abel's looking at his guy, Dre, and thinking, he's exhausted.
[Jon] Well, this is the first seventh round
of Mohammed Alakel's pro career, for whatever that's worth.
[Andre] Yeah, he's got three fights and it's a ten-round fight,
so that's to be expected, even if you do train
at high altitude in Big Bear, California.
[Max] Just learning how to relax in those moments
-and go those rounds. -[Andre] Yes. Yeah.
When to rest and where to rest in a round.
And this isn't the smallest of stages to throw a guy like that.
That may have a little something to do with it.
[Max] Now the question is, can Crawford sense that?
And take him into deep waters now,
the longest Alakel's ever been in a fight, and exploit it.
[Jon] That's a nice sequence for Alakel.
Started out with a punctuating left hand.
[Andre] That's how Crawford's gonna do it, pressing forward.
He's going to get hit.
Alakel is good enough, he's long enough to land shots when he throws,
but Crawford has to ignore that and keep doing that right there.
[Max] The last two rounds, it seems like Crawford has realized,
okay, I'm not gonna win the fight doing this.
I just have to plow forward and try to impose my will.
Hard when a guy's throwing back like that.
[Jon] Yeah, pays for it oftentimes when he does.
Nice right hand. There's another one from Mohammed Alakel.
Mighty Mo continuing to lead the dance here round seven.
Oh, nearly.
Floored Crawford there. He ate the shot pretty well.
[Max] I like that from Alakel.
His shots, Crawford just caught on his gloves.
One, two, and Alakel said, nope.
I got the range, and the three-four landed.
[Andre] It's also a good time.
Good right hand from Alakel. Another good right hand from Alakel.
Another good right hand.
And another.
[Max] Yeah, if a guy can't hit the curveball,
you keep throwing the curveball until he shows you he can hit it.
[Jon] Crawford seemingly as compromised as he has been all night.
Twenty seconds to go. Round seven.
Crawford still throwing offense back Alakel's way.
[Andre] Alakel's got to stay alert.
[referee] Ten seconds.
[Max] Crawford's left eye showing the damage from those right hands.
-[bell rings] -Time!
[Andre] Good shot right there from Alakel.
He missed the first two punches, but he landed the last two punches.
That's why combination punching
and coming behind your punch is so important.
Miss, miss, land.
Good sequence from Alakel. He's done that for most of this night.
We might be behind with scorecards, but we need to start picking it up.
-Are you with me? -Yeah.
-Are you okay? -Yeah, I'm good.
Okay, cool. Are we gonna finish this fight?
-Yeah. -Okay, baby.
-We gotta start putting pressure. -Okay.
-You understand? -Yes, sir.
The pressure's on him. It's not on you.
-Yes, sir. -But we need to start--
-We need to get these rounds. -Yeah, we can go on back.
Let's win in the fight, boys, okay?
Back some motherfucker up with the jab and follow up.
-Stay down. Stay down. -Where's his mouthpiece?
You got a mouthpiece?
Round him.
[bell rings]
[Jon] All right, Luey Villarreal trying to get his pupil going.
We show you Skipper Kelp's unofficial scorecard,
all Alakel through seven.
[Andre] Part of what a young fighter
has to learn when they're going long rounds
early in a career is the focus.
It's hard to focus for eight, ten, and twelve three-minute rounds.
Your mind starts to wander. I struggled with that early in my career.
Got caught with a couple big shots early on
because it was hard to focus.
I'm used to four rounds, two-minute rounds, three rounds.
The long distance is hard, so you can see the young fighters lose focus
and then gain focus again.
And right now, Alakel looks like he's back on focus.
[Max] Yeah.
No, that's important background,
especially given just how young Mohammed Alakel is.
Again, these are waters he hasn't tested before.
Round eight for the first time as a pro.
[Andre] And it may sound strange,
but what happens is you start to drift mentally,
and you start to become a spectator to your own event.
Wow. There's a lot of people here.
And your coach has to recognize that and say, focus, man.
Listen to what I'm telling you.
That's part of going long rounds. It's not just physical.
It's also psychological.
[Max] No disrespect to Crawford, who you can see he can fight.
But you lost concentration against Darnell Boone,
who knocked everybody down. [laughs]
The guy, you lost concentration against a very dangerous fighter.
Didn't have a great record, but had some big wins
and some big knockdowns in his career.
And I remember feeling like, man, it's hard to focus.
I remember feeling that feel. It's hard.
Then all of a sudden you do enough of it, and it just becomes second nature.
[Max] You're having it your way.
It happened to Muhammad Ali when he was still Cassius Clay
against Henry Cooper.
You know, you have it your way,
Sonny Banks, and all of a sudden you're on the canvas.
[Andre] You learn how to do it by doing it.
[Max] Oh.
[Jon] Nice combination by Alakel, who has forced misses on
80% of Travis Crawford's offense tonight.
[Max] Crawford, a couple rounds ago, seemed determined to start trying
to implement a new strategy and just press forward.
And you have to credit Alakel for stinging him
and punishing his mistakes enough that it took some of that out of him.
[Max] Good advance by Alakel,
and he partially lands that left hand
as he comes down the stretch of round eight.
Alakel trying to create a late angle here in round eight.
[upbeat music playing]
Two more. Two more.
We can do two more like this, right?
Okay.
A little busier,
a little busier, and a little more pounding down here and then back up.
You're throwing nice shots up on top,
but you're not doing nothing down here.
I want to see a jab down here in a while.
Catch levels down here, okay?
You are, you are.
But you just cannot allow him to get started.
That's the bad thing you do.
When you're allowing him to get started, he throws a couple shots,
and it looks ugly, all right?
-Yeah. -Okay.
Be first. Take shape.
[Jon] Moments ago, the man
around whom this fight card was built made his way to Allegiant Stadium,
the undisputed and Ring Magazine super middleweight champion,
Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez…
putting it all on the line tonight
against another star of this era, Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Won't be long now, folks.
Some business to attend to, though, before we get to the main event.
That includes this main card opener, Mohammed Alakel and Travis Crawford.
[Andre] The beauty of hydration.
Canelo Álvarez looks a lot different in the face
-than he did yesterday. -[Jon] Yes. Astute assessment, my man.
[Max] Clean sweep on Skipper Kelp's unofficial scorecard
for Mohammad Alakel through eight.
[Andre] If Alakel can get through this fight,
which it looks like he might, it's a good learning experience for him.
Did a lot of good things. He made some mistakes.
Some of his holes that he has in his arsenal and in his game
got exposed, but not to a point where it discourages you.
It's enough where it takes you back to Big Bear
and it makes you go back to work.
[Jon] Skipper Kelp, Mohammed Alakel holding serve as the favorite thus far.
[Skipper] Alakel's pitching a shutout, but I'd like to see him turn it up and try
to close the show here.
He's a future star. Let's see what you got.
[Max] Yeah once again I'm with Skipper. I mean, I do wonder though,
how much of it-- You know, people mature physically at different ages
and he just has the look to me
of a guy who's not fully grown into his body yet
[Jon] You always wonder the extent
to which a given athlete or fighter is prioritizing a finish
but to Andre's point a lot of valuable experience
to be extracted within a long fight.
Coming up on 90 seconds here to go in round nine of a possible ten.
-Oh, good short shot by Alakel. -[Andre] I like that.
[Jon] I mean, he's wide-eyed in the best of ways.
[Andre] And he did it on the move. He never stopped moving.
[Max] That was really a beautiful left hand.
[Andre] Didn't throw it hard, but it landed hard enough.
-[referee] Stop, stop! -[Jon] And again,
nice job varying the weaponry there as he goes to the lead uppercut.
[Max] And you know, there are compounding advantages sometimes
for a professional fighter, and Andre, you mentioned it earlier.
Going ten rounds this early in your career,
if in fact this goes ten, we're in the ninth,
in a fight that Alakel's winning handily.
Going ten rounds, but on a stage like this…
is an enormous benefit for a young fighter…
[Andre] Good sequence right there from Crawford.
[Max] …because it's harder to relax. Hard enough to go ten for the first time.
-Harder to do it in an environment… -[Andre] Right.
[Max] …where it's hard to relax because it's so intense.
[Jon] Crawford having some moments here, round nine.
[Andre] Good answer from Crawford.
[Jon] A lot to be admired, even, potentially, in defeat
for Travis Crawford.
-Took the fight on short notice. -[Max] Oh!
But it's those kind of shots that stopped him
from attacking with more reckless abandon
as he started to in the fifth and sixth rounds.
-[Max] Oh! His best punches of the fight. -[bell rings]
-[crowd cheering] -[upbeat music playing]
[Max] For Travis Crawford, Alakel says no, but tape don't lie.
-[Abel] Why'd you let him have this round? -[Alakel] I don't know.
-[Abel] Come on, this is the last round. -[Alakel] I'll get it.
-Hey, hey, come on… -Take a deep breath.
…win this last round and you win the fight. You understand?
Hold it in your mouth.
Just like that, just sit down on your shots.
Keep putting that pressure forward.
You hit him with the right earlier, he didn't like that. Okay?
That's because you sat down and you threw it right down the pipe.
-Hold in your mouth. -We need this round.
You understand, Travis? That we need this round.
Are you with me?
-Yeah. -You with me?
-Okay, you got it? -Yeah!
[trainer] Come up with that two-three, baby.
Come up with that two-three.
When he's walking back and he moves to his right,
throw your fucking leg forward.
-Throw it wide. The way we talk about it. -[whistle blows]
Leave everything here. Leave everything here. Let's go.
Let's go. Everything. Hop in.
[Michael] Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!
-Round ten. -[crowd cheering]
[Jon] Gotta like the thoughtful question from Abel Sanchez to Mohammed Alakel.
"Why'd you let him win that round?" Alakel gave it to Crawford.
[Andre] Alakel answered like a young fighter would.
-"I don't know." -[Jon] Right, right.
[Max] And then also, did he give it to him or did Crawford take it from him?
-There are two guys in there. -[Jon] Yep.
[Andre] I think the point Sanchez was trying to make
is that didn't have to happen.
[Max] Yeah, I mean, right, except that first time
in the ninth round, as we mentioned, on a stage like this,
[Andre] Before a coach who has a young fighter
who's supposed to be blue chip and he got big plans for him.
You can't accept that at any level.
You have to let him know very early on in his…
-Stop, stop. -…his progress,
as a young fighter that we don't accept that.
[Max] That's not okay for him. You gotta be the guy
-dictating everything. -[Andre] These guys accept that.
-That may be acceptable, but not for us. -[Max] Right.
[Max] I really think Alakel was shaken up at the end of the night.
[Andre] I think he was, too.
[Jon] Good right hand by Crawford amidst a lot of landing by Alakel.
Under two minutes to decide it.
[Max] With only one knockout as a professional so far, Dre,
in five fights, and unable to floor so far Crawford,
in spite of landing a lot of clean shots upstairs.
Do you see anything in Alakel's technique that tells you
that he can make some adjustments to increase punching power?
[Andre] I think Alakel has a lot of upside in a lot of areas.
It may be some technique, and we know that that's what Abel Sanchez teaches.
Some of it is, like you say, his man bones and getting his man strength,
and some of it is a temperament thing.
I think it's an array of reasons why he's not getting knockouts now,
but it's still very, very early.
[Jon] Though, he's got timing, he's got speed.
[Max] And the mouse under his left eye right now.
[Andre] Yeah, he's earned that, and that's good for him.
He said, "No, it's not always gonna go your way."
Tighten up, stay tight, and stay focused.
Keeping it front. Keeping it front.
[Jon] Crawford remaining committed to the cause here late in the fight,
just over a minute to go as he lands a left hand.
[Andre] Respect to Crawford, man.
He has had moments where there were lows in his offense and in his game plan,
but he hasn't quit, he hasn't stopped trying to win,
and he's even doing so right now with 50 seconds left in this fight.
[Jon] And he's got Alakel checking the clock.
-Unless this is-- -Halfway, halfway.
[Max] Exceptionally poorly judged fight.
Alakel has the fight won
unless something big and dramatic happens here in the next 30 seconds.
And it's not like we haven't seen Crawford reach him.
[referee] Off his head, off his head. Come on.
[Jon] Some light body work by Travis Crawford.
Stop, stop.
Ten seconds.
[Jon] Alakel circling away from that right-hand power
of Crawford late in the fight.
[Max] Good experience fight for Alakel.
-[Jon] No doubt. -[bell rings]
[Jon] All right, so Mohammed Alakel and Travis Crawford
go the distance to kick off our main card on Netflix.
Official decision coming up next as we continue live from Allegiant.
[upbeat music playing]
[music concludes]
[Jon] All right, back live in Vegas,
Mohammed Alakel and Travis Crawford go the distance.
Michael Buffer has the official decision.
[Michael] Ladies and gentlemen, after ten rounds, we go to the scorecards.
And here they are, 99-91, 99-91, 98-92.
All to the winner by unanimous decision and still undefeated
from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
Mighty Mohammed Alakel.
[Jon] All right, so Mighty Mo Alakel, six and 0 as a pro.
He goes the ten-round distance for the first time.
Did lose a round or two on a couple of those scorecards,
but Mohammed Alakel, your winner by unanimous decision,
worth tracking his progress moving forward.
-[crew] Mohammed. -Mohammed.
[Jon] Well, all the stars are going to be out here tonight
inside Allegiant Stadium for this massive live event.
Josh Duhamel is with us, star of Netflix's Ransom Canyon.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Also with us tonight, Holly Madison,
staple at a lot of UFC-line events with us for boxing here tonight.
DeMarcus Cousins filling up the screen as usual,
the four-time NBA All-Star. Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali's widow,
is with us here tonight for Canelo versus Crawford.
As is Rob Lowe showing off a pretty good jab here early on.
Jay Williams, former Duke standout and national champion
with us tonight for the boxing festivities.
As is the legend Andy Ruiz.
Of course, the rematch with Anthony Joshua.
First big fight that got the Saudi Arabian contingent into boxing.
And Tracy Morgan must not be a Knicks game tonight.
Good to have him with us here in the Fight Capital.
Michael Irvin, number 88 in your program,
number one in your heart, with us here tonight.
He's part of America's Team, The Gambler, and his Cowboys on Netflix.
All right, earlier this week,
Max Kellerman had a few minutes with the man
who put this entire night together, His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh.
So fight week is rolling right along.
-What do you expect to see on Saturday? -[Turki] Great fight.
It will be one of the top fight in the last ten years at least,
and maybe forever.
I talk with them in the last two months, maybe each day, each two day,
and they are very excited.
When I'm involved in a fight like this as a broadcaster, you know, for me,
it's like, this is the new generation, Sugar Ray Leonard,
Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns.
Do you feel the same sort of thing? Like, you grow up watching the fights,
and here you are making the next classic.
Have you seen Vegas in the last couple days?
-Right, it's back. -It's back.
And all the world, their eyes…
this fight and the world can see what Riyadh Season
and Saudi Arabia doing for boxing. We put our name in the map of fighting.
[Max] And the fact that Netflix has this
300-million-subscriber reach makes it a global fight
unlike really any other in 50 years.
Netflix is the biggest platform for that.
We are very happy to do the job with them. I want to tell you something.
When we get in the boxing back, this revolution start from '23.
The boxing in America was the sport number 14.
Imagine in the '70, '80,
and the mid of the '90s was the sport number one.
What damaged boxing? From the promoters, from the fighters mentality,
from the platforms.
No one take the risk, no one doing the big fights.
Now, with what we are doing, Riyadh Season, and all our partners.
Last year, it became the sport number nine,
and I hope it will be one of the top five.
-Arrows going in the right direction. -Yes. Thank God.
We have the opportunity now to do something for boxing,
and we are close to have something big in the future with Netflix.
Long relationship, and this is important.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Max.
[music concludes]
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] All right, coming up next, we have got some championship stakes
in the super middleweight division.
WBC interim king Christian Mbilli is 29 and 0, was handpicked
by His Excellency to compete on this main card tonight.
And now the Cameroon-born, Canada based marauder will try
to deliver the goods against the also undefeated pride
of Guatemala City, Guatemala,
Lester Martínez, he made his pro debut back in 2019
against old friend Ricardo Mayorga
and now that he has figured out some health issues, Martínez back
on the proven ground and ready to produce the biggest win
of his professional life. WBC interim super middleweight title
on the line next.
[music concludes]
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Welcome back inside the home of the NFL's Raiders.
Allegiant Stadium here in Las Vegas
for Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
Raiders open their home slate in this building on Monday night,
but it is all about the sweet science here tonight.
Don't miss Jude Law and Jason Bateman in Netflix's new limited series,
Black Rabbit. The two star in this dramatic crime thriller
about two brothers in over their heads with the New York City mob.
Black Rabbit hits Netflix this Thursday, September 18th.
But now, number one ranked super middleweight Christian Mbilli
is locked in on making the type of resounding statement
no one in the fight game can ignore, and he will try to make it
against fellow unbeaten Lester Martínez, a Guatemalan knockout puncher intent
on one day delivering the first world title to his nation.
[music concludes]
["Pressure and Time" playing]
[Christian] I'm going to win this fight because I burned for this.
I worked all my life for this.
I'm there to win. That's my destiny.
[commentator] Oh! The left hook.
[Christian] I think and I hope this fight will steal the show.
I want the people to know that I'm the next superstar of the division.
First time I see Christian was just before the Olympic game in 2016.
He impressed me the way that he was able to win the fight
at the amateur level.
When I started boxing, I was 15 years old.
I was watching Mike Tyson TV,
visualizing myself walking to the ring like a superstar.
[Jon] Woah. And he is flat on the canvas!
[commentator 2] The WBC interim
super middleweight champion of the world!
[Lester in Spanish] In Guatemala, there hasn't been a world champion,
and we're going to change that in the name of Guatemala.
We're going to change history, I assure you.
[commentator 3] It is all over! Just like that!
[Lester in Spanish] Carrying the Guatemalan flag in this next fight
is going to be a huge deal.
This is the opportunity I've been waiting for,
and I'm going to be a world champion.
[Brian] For the last three years, man, I love working with Lester Martínez.
He wants to be a champion, and he will be a champion.
[analyst] You see he's very powerfully built.
He's got heavy hands, sets a pace.
[commentator 3] This fight is over.
Huge knockout for the fighter from Guatemala.
[Lester in Spanish] I've been preparing with Terence Crawford,
and I'm really taking full advantage of this experience.
[in English] We're in the gym pushing each other,
you know, making each other better.
Iron sharpen iron. It's great working with Lester.
[Christian] I know Crawford and Lester Martínez are working together.
For me, it doesn't matter. I know I'm the best.
Mbilli's one of those guys who comes to the front door,
he lets his hands go. He's such an engine.
[commentator in foreign language] Oh! Wow!
And Christian Mbilli finishes it.
[in English] I will be there to smash him.
[Lester in Spanish] I'm going to stop Christian Mbilli.
I don't know in which round or at what point in the fight,
but I will do it.
No one has done it before, and I want to be the first.
[Christian in English] I'm bad matchup for Lester because better jab,
better defense, better conditioning, and better than him in everything.
[Lester in Spanish] I will be the first world champion from Guatemala.
[music concludes]
[dramatic hip-hop music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Jon] He is ubiquitously regarded as his nation's best hope
for boxing gold and glory. Enter Guatemala's Lester Martínez.
And Mark Kriegel, I consider you as in the know in boxing as anyone.
And those in the know really like this undefeated kid.
Nineteen and 0 as he arrives at the biggest fight of his life.
[Mark] Lester Martínez says, "I like being the underdog,"
which is pretty good because he certainly is one tonight
against the fearsome puncher,
Christian Mbilli says, "The key to Mbilli is backing him up."
But he's also had one of the most crucial jobs
in the Crawford camp. He was Bud's main sparring partner in a stand-in
for Canelo. The question is, "On your way to the ring now,
can you let that sparring partner mentality go?"
I like what he said at the end of our meeting, "Remember my name."
I'm going to put Guatemala on the boxing map.
[Max] You know, we've already had a tremendous fight tonight.
Brandon Adams upsetting Serhii Bohachuk for the second time in a brutal fight.
And those guys threw punches like they meant it.
And so do these guys, not just Mbilli, but Martínez.
But with these guys, including Martínez, they land like they mean it, too.
Sometimes two different guys can put the same swing on the ball,
but for whatever reason, it goes over the fence with one of them.
Both these guys tonight, including Lester Martínez,
are home-run hitters.
[Jon] Well, expectations can be resentments in waiting,
but a lot of people believe that this could be a fight of the year type
offering between Lester Martínez and Christian Mbilli with respect,
of course, to the two final fights of the night.
All eyes on Lester Martínez as he tries to upset Christian Mbilli
here live on Netflix tonight in the biggest spot of his career.
[music concludes]
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Well, Mark Ramsey has an undeniable eye for finding talent
in the boxing world, and he hand-picked Christian Mbilli
from the amateur ranks.
And his pupil's gone on to realize
the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Championship,
and he has got this fan base excited, Heidi.
[Heidi] You know, and he's exciting. That's why. You know, he's from Cameroon.
He went from Cameroon to France at just seven-years-old.
And by 15, Christian walked into a boxing gym
simply to learn how to protect himself.
Six months later, guys, he was already ranked number three in the nation.
I mean, this kid had talent off the bat.
Nearly 90 amateur fights followed, capped by representing France,
as you mentioned, Jon, in the 2016 Olympic Games
in Rio, where he reached the quarterfinal.
You mentioned his trainer, Mark Ramsey. He brought him to Montreal, Canada.
And Christian joked me like, "It was so cold. It was so brutal."
Those Long winters indoors were tough, but that forged his toughness.
Now he makes his Las Vegas debut. He's been rocking Raiders socks all week.
He calls his opponent Lester explosive, the perfect mix to spark a firefight.
His coach doesn't want a fight of the night.
He wants performance of the night.
And Christian told me, "Yeah, that's a lot of pressure, but guess what?
I'm going to go out there and knock this kid out."
[Andre] We talked to Mbilli in the fighter meeting,
and I talked to him about just that.
I said, I hear Mark saying that he wants you to box,
but I see something different in your eyes,
and I hear something different in your voice.
I want to see what voice he listens to in this fight.
[Michael] Guys, these are super middleweights.
The main event is super middleweight.
If one of these two guys, in this case we're talking Mbilli,
can make the kind of statement that they intend to make,
they throw their hat right in the mix.
For the winner of Canelo-Crawford.
[Jon] Some trying to call Christian Mbilli a French Mike Tyson.
He's trying to balance that fan expectation with strategy.
We'll see how it plays out tonight.
Christian Mbilli undefeated as is Lester Martínez.
A few inches, the gap in height,
both men coming in right at a 167 pounds, half an inch in reach for the incumbent,
the interim super middleweight champ, Christian Mbili.
All right, now for the introductions back inside to Michael Buffer.
Ladies and gentlemen, here at Allegiant Stadium,
the action continues with the Riyadh Season card, Las Vegas.
The three judges assigned at ringside for this contest, Glenn Feldman,
Patricia Morse Jarman, and Chris Migliore.
Referee in charge of the action at the bell will be Alan Huggins.
And now, a special contest, ten rounds of boxing
for the WBC Interim
Super Middleweight World Championship.
It's undefeated versus undefeated.
Somebody has got to go.
Introducing first fighting out of the blue corner wearing gold
with black official weight 167 pounds.
His professional record a perfect one.
Nineteen fights 19 victories including 16 big wins by knockout.
De Ciudad de Guatemala, The undefeated challenger,
Lester "El de Sangre Maya"
Martínez.
And his opponent across the ring fighting out
of the red corner wearing black twin with gold
weighing in officially at 167 pounds.
This Olympian now as a professional has a perfect record of 29 fights.
Twenty-nine victories, including 24 big wins by knockout.
Originally from Cameroon,
now living, training, fighting out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Mesdames et messieurs, the undefeated,
WBC Interim Super Middleweight World Champion,
Christian Solide
-Mbilli. -[crowd cheering]
[referee] Sir, Christian…
Okay, gentlemen, you've both been given your instructions.
Obey my command at all times.
Protect yourself at all times and think from here on up is good.
Here on up is good. Touch gloves. Good luck to you both.
[Michael] This is one of those fights where as long as it lasts,
you can't blink.
These guys throw punches with bad intentions.
[Jon] Yeah, from a matchmaking standpoint,
guys, this is what it is all about.
And both of these gentlemen in Cameroon and Guatemala, respectively,
hardened by life experience.
The Cameroonian, Christian Mbilli taking the center of the ring.
He's in black. Lester Martínez in the big old trunks in yellow.
[Andre] Does it look like Mbilli came to box?
[Michael] I mean, right out in round one with intensity
right in Lester Martínez's chest.
[Andre] The eyes never lie, brother.
He had that look in his eye in the fighter meeting.
[Michael] But Martínez is a dangerous puncher.
-[Andre] Right. -[Michael] And Mbilli has a tendency
to bow and arrow when he throws the left hand,
Dre, and his right hand comes back over to the left hook.
[Andre] Yeah, it's interesting seeing Lester Martínez on his back foot.
I haven't seen him on his back foot his whole career.
[Jon] Nice uppercut by Martínez, and now a right hand.
[Andre] Yeah, this is the kind of night this is gonna be.
[Jon] A little uppercut on the inside by Mbilli.
-[referee shouting] -[coach] Don't push him, don't push him.
[Jon] Body shot by Martínez.
[Alex] So far, Mbilli's imposing his strength.
Martínez slipping off the ropes.
You can see with an intention to spin Mbilli onto the ropes,
but Mbilli wasn't there.
[Andre] But Mbilli better know that punches are coming back
because Martínez is throwing, and he's throwing hard.
[Michael] The main thing I'm watching is,
when Mbilli throws the left hand and see what the right hand does.
It comes back. Martínez got a good left hook.
[Jon] Good head movement by Martínez. And Mbilli now rips the body.
Nice combination by Martínez!
And a left hook from Mbilli, back and forth we go.
[Max] I mean, Martínez has been getting some good work
in the gym, don't you think? Getting Crawford ready for Canelo.
[Jon] And Bud really likes him. You can just tell.
Not just as training partner, but as human being.
[Jon] Brutal strength from both fighters.
[Max] I mean, these shots are concussive, all of them.
It's just an issue, it looks like, who lands right first.
[Jon] Martínez, the more technical guy, under a minute to go, round one.
[Andre] That's a good call, Jon.
Even though the fight is fought like this right now
in the phone booth, Martínez is doing subtleties.
He's doing different things that Mbilli is not.
Mbilli is just literally using his physical strength
and punching power to try to kick that front door down.
[referee] Box.
[Andre] But thus far, Martínez has not allowed him to.
[Michael] Only takes one from either one of these guys.
Which is why when you're throwing 100, it's crazy.
[Andre] Good exchange.
[Jon] Man, Martínez answering everything thrown by Mbilli here early on.
Oh, beautiful body shot by Lester.
[bell rings]
[Max] Yes, please. More of that. Yes, please. What a first round.
[Mike] As advertised, through one. Right back with round two.
[energetic music playing]
[speaking French]
[interpreter] "Very careful because he gets very close."
"You need to do combos."
"I don't want you to push your… your right back."
"I want you to stay with him. Just stay with him."
-"Can you do that? Can you just do that?" -[continues speaking French]
[interpreter] "Okay, take your time. Take your time. Don't get excited."
"You have a tendency to get excited. Don't get excited."
"And then-- And then find the right time, just find the right time
to hit him and find the right time to get it done."
[speaks French]
[interpreter] "You're doing just fine."
[Jon] We got a man in the crowd tonight who has lived through
quite a few highs and lows in his life.
Charlie Sheen is here. He's dominated Hollywood headlines
for decades, and now he's finally sharing his remarkable story, aka Charlie Sheen,
-now playing only on Netflix -[bell rings]
[Jon] And there's something in the air tonight with these first round guys.
That's the third one tonight that was electric.
I have my mind on the main event as these guys get into round two.
[Max] Brother, I think it's just something in the air.
[Jon] Something in the air tonight.
It is usually higher the stakes,
the… the more cautious fighters are early. Not tonight.
[Jon] Well, Mark Ramsey knows his athlete, Christian Mbilli,
but not necessarily…
the approach he was looking for in round one.
Just overly aggressive was this guy.
[Andre] Coach Mark Ramsey has his hands cut out, to say the least.
-[Jon] Yeah. -[Andre] He's speaking--
I think they're on different wavelengths.
I think he's on a different channel than his fighter.
And they gotta figure that out because Mbilli's mind is made up.
This is the fight he's gonna fight tonight.
-[indistinct chatter] -[both grunt]
[Max] Vicious left hook to the body from Mbilli.
-Head free. -[Max] And then a right hand.
[Andre] One of Mbilli's strengths is the physical strength.
He's able to push Lester Martínez back.
That doesn't seem like anything, but it just starts to wear you down.
-It starts to-- -[Max] Right from the opening bell.
[Andre] And it's also intimidating for a fighter.
I can exchange with you punch for punch,
but the physicality, it's on a whole other level.
And I think he's a lot stronger than Lester Martínez tonight.
Not just because of the muscles,
but because of how he's pushing Lester back.
[Max] Martínez doing a lot of good things, but Mbilli is walking through it
and turning this into an absolute phone booth war.
-[Jon] Right. -[indistinct shouting]
[Jon] Mbilli rips the body. 90 seconds to go round two.
Uppercut is there for Martínez.
[both grunt]
[Max] The right hand that… that Mbilli just dug
to the body, and that's not the first one this round.
-[both grunt] -Come on.
[Max] The hook to the body return for Martínez, I mean.
[Jon] Oh. Oh! And Mbilli over the top, Martínez counters.
-Man. -[overlapping chatter]
[Max] Guys, super middleweight is a big division
for guys to be throwing this many punches this hard.
[Jon] Mbilli working his way, brutality-wise, inside.
Some numbers, you see the accuracy from Mbilli early on.
[Andre] As a fighter, you gotta steal deep breaths in these moments,
even though there's not a lot of time to do so.
You gotta try to get those deep breaths in,
in between your opponent's combinations and the combinations
that you're throwing, so you don't fade a lot faster.
-[Max chuckles] No time to breathe. -[Andre] You gotta-- You have to.
[both grunt]
[Andre] They're trying to match each other's combination.
-You see that right there? -[Max] And Mbilli threw
the same combination back!
[Jon] Mbilli to the body, Martínez upstairs.
[both grunt]
[Andre] Nice work from both fighters.
-Mbilli got the best of that experience. -[bell rings]
[Max] And what's crazy is, at that distance,
it's kind of safer for both guys,
'cause they're taking a little something off the shots.
They can't get full extension.
-[speaking Spanish] -Deep breath.
-Deep breathe, hold it… -For your head.
[interpreter] "I'm not saying we're ahead. It's very even right now."
"You're doing a good job. Listen, listen, and continue--"
"And continue to use the torque out there to use the shots to the body."
"Great work, great work."
Lester, Lester, you gotta stay off the ropes, okay?
When he bag you up, step around him, okay?
You gotta keep your guards up, up here, not right here, up here, okay?
And step around him, get your feet together,
get your legs together.
Get the sound, sit down on your punches a little more, okay?
-[speaks Spanish] -How you feeling?
-I've been good, Coach. -Okay, all right. Okay.
Well, you got to dig for it…
[Jon] Well, fellas, not sure if you have seen what is going on
inside Allegiant Stadium over here for this new movie, The Rip,
but Netflix's The Rip
stars two favorites, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
It's about a team of Miami cops who find 20 million
in a stash house in Miami. It's up to them to decide
whether to rip that money for themselves or do the right thing.
Looks pretty intense. Check it out only on Netflix, January 16th.
-[both grunt] -[indistinct chatter]
[Jon] All right, buckle up.
Round three, Christian Mbilli, Lester Martínez
for the WBC Interim Super Middleweight title.
[Max laughs] Come on.
Oh. Oh.
We already saw Brandon Adams beat Serhii Bohachuk in this kind of fight,
and I thought that one was gonna be tough to beat,
but these two guys seem like they're trying.
-[Jon] Chasing bonus money early. -Get off the rope!
[both grunt]
[Andre] Is that what's happening tonight? I don't know.
Is that what we're saying? Is that why we're getting
-these kind of fights tonight? -[Max] I-- Of course.
Listen, you think it hurts to be incentivized? A 100,000 dollars?
[Jon] Especially some of those prelim fighters, right?
You wonder what their purse is relative to that bonus.
Nice connection by Martínez over the top of the right hand.
And Mbilli just continues to walk through it.
[Max] But I mentioned especially in the first round, guys,
because the stakes are high, it is-- There's a feeling out process.
And if that's in the air for our main event,
people still remember Hagler and Hearns because they threw caution to the wind
from ding ding round one,
and I wonder what's gonna happen a little later tonight.
[indistinct shouting]
[Jon] Good body shot from Mbilli.
-I thought it affected Mbilli just there… -[Andre] Yes, it did.
-…right hand to the body. -[Andre] Hasn't thrown a punch since.
He's more concerned with protecting that side of his body
-than he is throwing punches. -[Jon] And it set up the uppercut
for Martínez too with the same hand
[both grunt]
[Jon] And now, the left to the body.
[Andre] Whoever can make that adjustment can create the separation they need.
-[Jon] Which adjustment? -[Andre] Landing clean shots to the body
Placed shots, thoughtful shots, not just flurries.
Some good defensive responsibility there by Martínez.
[Andre] Ooh, good left hook from Mbilli,
but in this round for the first time, it looks to me
like Martínez's shots upstairs also are having
a different kind of effect on Mbilli.
[Max] Good counter by Martínez after Mbilli appeared to land.
[indistinct shouting]
[Jon] Oh, short left is there for Mbilli. And now an uppercut from Martínez.
[Max] Oh, big shot from Mbilli, a right hook.
[Jon] Mbilli now trying to force the issue and follow up.
Eats an uppercut from Martínez.
-[both grunt] -[indistinct shouting]
[Jon] Right hand is there for Mbilli, and the Martínez uppercut is heard from.
[Andre] Martínez wants to put Mbilli's back on the ropes,
-and Mbilli won't let him. -[Jon]
[both grunt]
[Jon] Good body work by Mbilli late in the round.
-Martínez always there to answer. -[bell rings]
-What a war! -[crowd cheering, applauding]
[speaking French]
[interpreter] "Bring him to you. Bring him to you."
-[continues speaking French] -[interpreter] "He's done."
[interpreter] "Because… because you are an offensive player,
but you have to be careful with your defense."
"Go with him. Move with him."
"He's coming toward you. Don't let him come toward you."
"Just come to your second leg."
"You just-- He… he has a low guard. So, take advantage of that."
"Just-- And go to the side. Just move to the side."
"And then that way you'll be able to get him."
[speaking French]
[Andre] When we say fighting in a phone booth, this is what we need.
These fighters are forehead to forehead,
not just throwing one or two punches,
but throwing combinations both to the head and the body.
And every time Martínez has a moment and Mbilli comes back
and he has another moment,
I would not want to be a judge in this fight tonight.
No, thank you.
Man, if this goes to the judges.
No, thank you.
[Jon] Well, let us check in with our official score.
The coach, Skipper Kelp.
Skip, what do you have so far?
[Skipper] I have it two rounds to one for Mbilli, but the last round I gave
to Lester because he started landing clean shots.
Very close fight.
No doubt about it.
Nice left hand by Christian Mbilli.
Mark Ramsey looking for a little more defense on this guy.
[Max] I'll take Skipper's word for it because you get caught up
in the action in these rounds.
[Jon] But Andre, you were wise to acknowledge the sort of disconnect
between coach and pupil, Ramsey and Mbilli.
We see a little more defensive responsibility
here round four.
And it's tough being a judge in a fight like this because what do you face?
Both guys.
are almost identical in their approach.
Do you feel like Mbilli has some effective aggressiveness
because he's pushing Lester back?
Do you like when Lester throws a three- or four-piece combination?
What are you looking at?
How do you separate these two and have a…
determining factor to give a guy a round when they're this close.
See, to me, here's what you ask yourself every round.
Here's how you score a round.
Who would you rather have been that round?
I don't know in these rounds.
Because it's not just how hard you think they're throwing,
but how's the other guy taking the shot?
It's hard to tell.
It's right down the middle, brother.
This shot right there from Mbilli.
Yeah, it was.
Lester's back does not need to be against the ropes,
but it's hard for him to get Mbilli off of him.
I don't see how he keeps it.
He's doing good work off the ropes.
He's got to turn him, because Mbilli is strong in a straight line.
If you allow him to back you up in a straight line, but as soon
as you give him an angle, he'll fall over his feet.
But that's not who Lester Martínez is.
Yeah, Lester Martínez doesn't have the fleetest of feet.
It's not even the fleet.
It's just a willingness to step to the side and give a slight angle.
Great short uppercut from Lester Martínez.
But, again, I don't think Martínez is interested.
Unofficially and barely landing at a third-grader clip,
sixty-seven percent to thirty-nine percent
for Martínez.
It's also, when you're the hunter your whole career, and both
these guys have been the hunter, that's when you know what,
you know, you can't accept the fact
that you're gonna be the hunted a little bit.
You have to keep hunting,
and that's what's happening with both guys here.
Looked like Mbilli absorbed a pretty significant shot there
on the inside.
Again, Martínez connects.
Mbilli is so physically strong.
And he is just in perpetual forward motion.
Big left hand from Mbilli.
[Jon] He's got that death touch to be sure.
He ate a right hand from Martinez there.
[Andre] Oh, both fighters' necks on big off rings.
[Max] Big right hand from Mbilli upstairs.
[bell rings]
[Jon] Four great rounds thus far. Potentially six to go.
Hey.
Make these rounds close, man. Okay.
Hey, I'm sorry.
You're making the rounds too close, okay?
You got to pick it up. How you feel? You okay?
It ain't doing nothing to you because you got your hands down
and you're moving your head.
But you got to let your hands go a little bit more.
Okay? Two and three.
Agua, agua, agua.
Deep breath. Give me a deep breath.
[Jon] When a fight is this close,
these are the moments and these are the sequences you want to have
as a round is closing, like you see Mbilli have right here.
Clean shots, powerful shots,
shots that send Lester back to the corner, trying to recover,
and it's the last thing on a judge's mind.
That's how you close a round in a fight this close in this nip and tuck.
[Max] And I think, Dre, you hit the nail on the head.
In terms of the effective aggression thing,
the question in a close round for a judge might be,
who did the thing they wanted to do?
And if Mbilli's intention is to put Martinez on the ropes
and Martinez doesn't want to be there,
he's imposing his will that way, and that could be the difference.
[Jon] And there were some close rounds earlier tonight between Brandon Adams
and Serhii Bohachuk, but it was Adams who constantly put a capstone
on the rounds by coming on strong over the final 25, 30 seconds.
Round five here.
Martinez's coach, Bomak, said you gotta do more.
I'm not sure that that's the right thing for Martinez to do.
He said you have to throw more punches.
I think he has to be a little bit smarter and not necessarily fight harder.
That's the differentiator in this fight, by just giving slight angles.
You don't have to be Floyd Mayweather on your feet, but punch
and just step around and make the hard charging,
Mbilli, look for you, and then punch again.
Both fighters landing consequential shots on the inside.
Seems like Mbilli's defense has shored up a little bit.
[Max] You know, I hear you, Dre, but to pull that off effectively…
When you're not that kind of fighter,
it's very difficult when a guy is as hard-charging as Mbilli.
[Andre] It's really not.
[Max] Maybe not for you.
[Andre] No, no, it's really not. You don't have to be a kind of fighter.
It's a simple, just move. Just get off the line.
But you got to have a know-how, and you got to have a willingness.
[Max] Right. It's not in his nature.
[Jon] Short sequence from Mbilli but Martinez
just constantly throwing offense.
Another uppercut from Lester.
[Max] And this could be wind up being a conditioning fight these guys.
You know Martinez is blocking a lot of these shots on the inside.
[Andre] Oh, it's a conditioning fight for sure.
[Max] And he's countering but Mbilli is just maintaining the pace
[Jon] And hard to quantify how much confidence it gives Martinez
to be side-by-side with Bud Crawford,
but fighting like a guy
who's totally unfazed by the biggest stage of his career.
Martinez doesn't have to sit there on the ropes.
You can just walk in there. Just walk. You don't have to be…
light on your feet just walk and then when you get in position punch
and then walk him again.
He's heavy-legged, he's pressing forward, he's falling over his feet.
You got to recognize at least that small thing and make that small adjustment.
[Max] Right you just saw Lester Martinez land a very good combination
and had he stepped off at that point.
Maybe he could do it again.
[Andre] We think you have to be Floyd Mayweather or fight like this,
you can be somewhere in-between
Body work is there for Mbilli.
[Jon] Good right hand by the Guatemalan now.
[Max] Martinez did some very good work this round.
[bell rings]
[Andre] Mbilli closed the round again.
[speaking French]
[interpreter] "You're doing fine."
"You're doing just fine. You can rest a little bit."
"I know you're an offensive player, but be careful with your defense."
"And then you don't have to worry."
"I mean, I know you took some hard hits on the body."
"But you're fine. You're fine."
"The most important is to get the job done."
"Okay? So keep your combos going
and just be sure that you work on your defense."
"And then you keep on doing the same thing you've been doing."
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "First you pull the angle, you hit him in the body,
and then you get into it with the left hand,
-and then right there, low, okay?" -[whistle blows]
[interpreter] "Give me the other one."
[Jon] Legendary director Guillermo del Toro
is bringing us the ultimate monster movie,
Frankenstein, starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth,
and Christoph Waltz.
Frankenstein is coming to Netflix on November 7th.
We resume the action here.
High octane all of it. Round six, Christian Biele, Lester Martinez.
[Andre] I'm in the corner of Lester Martinez.
I'm not complicating things. I'm keeping it simple.
Sonny, can you throw your jab?
Throw a combination and put your hands up and just step around.
And when he comes to you and stumbles to you,
you can either step around again or you can rinse and repeat.
Let's just do that the rest of the way.
We're going to be a lot safer, give up less points,
less punishment, and we're going to pile up points on this guy.
[Jon] Looked like there was a step around a moment ago.
From Lester Martinez, lands the right hand there.
[Max] And if I'm in the corner of Mbilli,
I might tell him the same thing,
but I just don't think he's gonna listen.
[Andre] His mind is made up. This is what it's gonna be tonight.
[Max] From the opening bell.
[Jon] And in the fighter meeting, he did talk a lot
about strategy and finding patterns.
[Max] What's impressive to me about what Mbilli…
They've both been impressive tonight.
What's impressive about Mbilli to me is when you decide
you're going to keep up that kind of intense pressure all night,
and the other guy is well-schooled enough to punish you for it,
but nothing ever changes.
You're never in the least discouraged.
That's a guy who's…
as prepared for the moment psychologically as he can be.
[Andre] The three-piece from Mbilli right there.
Yes, it was.
[Jon] Oh, nice uppercut from Martinez,
and the numbers are just one angle, but they do suggest
that Mbilli has landed at a far greater flip, 59%
to 36% for Martinez.
[Andre] And for what it's worth, he's throwing the flashier punches,
and oftentimes the heavier shots are landing.
[Max] Yep. I think Martinez too is expecting at some point,
because he's doing some good subtle work on the inside,
picking shots and countering.
At some point, that's supposed to add up to something,
and something's supposed to change in the other guy.
Watch your hands, watch your hands.
[Andre] This is why you don't cheat in boxing.
This is why you don't cut corners in boxing.
This is why you dedicate yourself and you fall in love with it
or you leave it alone because you may find yourself in a fight like this
one night and it's going to tell on you.
What you did well and what you didn't do well.
[Max] I'll tell you, someone who's not getting cheated right now
are the fans. This has been terrific, bell to bell.
No knockout, no knockout, no knockout.
[Jon] And you can imagine what the scene must be in Guatemala.
This is their great hope for boxing glory.
They've never had an Olympic medalist nor a world champion.
[Andre] Good shot from Mbilli.
Because when you do prepare the right way, and it is this kind of night,
you're confident to bite on that gum shield and go to work.
[Max] See, at this distance, I think it's a more dangerous fight.
When they're in close, when they're in close,
there's a little something taking off their shots.
At mid-range, these guys are catching each other
with more full extensions.
[Jon] Short uppercut late for Martinez, round six is done.
You got to start bringing them around. You got to start bringing them around.
Under, around, around the glove, okay? Okay?
Doing a good job staying off the ropes.
But you got to keep trying to push him back a little bit more, okay?
-You see, he's getting tired. He's tired. -Yeah, I know.
All right, you're pushing. How do you feel?
-I feel good. I feel good. -Give me a deep breath.
-Yeah. -[speaking Spanish]
This is very even right now. We're even right now.
You got three rounds left.
[overlapping chatter]
[interpreter] "This is very even right now. Very even right now."
[whistle blows]
[Jon] A look inside the locker room
of the superstar Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Don't be long now.
[Max] Dre, are there some nights where you're watching the undercard
and everything's kind of rough for everyone?
And does that affect you ever?
Like, is Bud watching it thinking, do you think, at all,
anywhere, hey, I might be in store for one of these later on tonight?
[Andre] Possibly. You have to concede that.
[Jon] Of course, Bud Crawford watching intently
as his guy Lester Martinez tries
to extract the belt away from Christian Mbilli.
Skipper, Kelp, what do you have for us?
[Skipper] 100% with Andre, if Lester Martínez
would just step around and get some angles,
he would change the perception of the fight.
The perception now is Mbilli pulling him backwards.
He should get them angles and change the perception.
[Max] Skipper, I take my hat off to you because scoring this fight ain't easy.
[Jon] Not easy.
Always thankful in any sport to be commentator and not judge.
[Andre] One small adjustment can change the course of this fight.
[Max] Right, but Skipper's scorecard, without paying attention to what rounds--
only been ten, nine rounds the way boxing is scored--
without paying attention, to that 58-56.
That sounds about right, Mbilli? Right?
Like, it's an even-ish fight. If someone has the advantage, it's Mbilli.
[Andre] Slightly, yes.
[Jon] Martinez starting to tighten up the numbers a little bit.
Big connection by Mbilli with the right hand.
[Andre] See, Martinez has action at the bottom. He drops down oftentimes.
It's almost like a tendency he has. He doesn't do much, like right there.
It's a good opportunity to rip some body shots,
but he'll lift back up, and he won't. He'll only throw to the hand.
[Max] Do you think it's because Mbilli's throwing those crooked punches
sometimes as uppercuts?
[Jon] It's possibly. I just think he's not really a good body punch.
He doesn't really throw sustained attacks to the body.
He will throw, but it's not like we saw in the Brandon Adams fight.
You could tell Brandon Adams, he's been taught to do that.
I don't see that right now with Lester. I see that more with Mbilli.
[Max] Yeah, and Mbilli is much more dedicated downstairs.
[Jon] It's really a beautiful thing for all the fighters
at home ripping shots to the body and hearing a fighter grunt
and watching them fade right before you
it's really a beautiful thing. I understand the head shots
and sports center top ten
but that's really where you earn your money.
[Max] I think of you against Kovalev in the rematch you hurt him
in the body and you stayed right there.
-[Andre] Nobody likes it to the body. -[Max] Right.
[Andre] But there's a lot of people that can't take it to the body.
So why not check his temperature and see if he can take it?
[Jon] Big shots landed. I'm going to go by Mbilli.
[Max] Martinez is also used to in his career so far
when he lands these clean hooks upstairs, fights over.
[Andre] Right.
[Jon] Not the case tonight.
These gentlemen came in a combined 48 and 0 with 40 knockouts.
-[Andre] Is that good? -[Jon] Pretty good.
Someone's 0 in 3. Oh, good shot from Mbilli.
[Andre] And Martinez right back with three big shots of his own.
[bell rings]
[Jon] Tried to end it with that right hand.
[upbeat music playing]
[coach] How you feel?
You feel good? He might have got that round.
He might have gotten it,
because he stayed in your face the whole time,
he didn't push him back, not one time.
[Jon] Everybody including, Lester Martínez is waiting
for Mbilli to slow down but he's not.
He keeps throwing short, tough, hard shots to the head
and body of Lester Martínez and Martínez is waiting for him to slow down
but he's not just waiting.
He's throwing his own punches, he's landing his own shots.
Neither fighter wants to give in this type of fight,
but you get the sense that Christian Mbilli
to Max's point, has a slight edge.
[Max] NFL Christmas game day returns with two marquee games
that'll showcase NFC divisional rivals facing off.
The Dallas Cowboys take on the Washington Commanders at 1:00 p.m.
Eastern, and then the Detroit Lions versus the Minnesota Vikings
at 4:30 p.m. Eastern,
all streaming live globally on Netflix December 25th.
You don't want to miss it on Christmas Day.
[bell rings]
[Jon] All right, here we go, round 8th
to decide the WBC interim super middleweight world title.
[Andre] A punishing, punishing fight.
[Max] You have to be in great shape to be able to fight like this
for the 7th and now 8th round.
I don't think either fighter has taken a round off.
[Jon] Sneaky shot from Lester Martínez that got in Mbilli attention.
[Max] Like a temple shot,
Dre, that's coming over the top to catch him on the top of his head.
[Andre] He didn't see it.
[Max] And went right back to it again. And he should go back to it again.
That's, you know, he button is the chin, of course.
You hit a guy on the chin, he goes.
The second spot upstairs that can end the night is the temple.
[Andre] Yeah, there's a lot of ways to get the job done,
and you, as the opponent,
it's your job to figure out what it is.
If he takes a good shot to the head, you gotta go downstairs.
If he takes a good shot downstairs, you gotta commit to the head.
You gotta mix it up,
and sometimes you gotta do both to get the result that you want.
It's your job to figure it out.
[Max] And he went back upstairs again with the right hand.
Martínez may have found something with this right hand over the top.
[Jon] Went to it again, ate a left hand from Mbilli.
Mbilli trying to stop that right hand by countering it with a left hook.
[Max] So, Martínez tried to throw it to the heart.
Again, and Mbilli answered with his own right hand.
[Jon] There is just something about these Cameroonian fighters
in combat sports.
So, many challenges in their formative years,
oftentimes going to bed hungry with Christian Mbilli,
and that has forced him in boxing, to say the least.
[Max] Fighting like he's hungry, for sure.
[Jon] Good right hand for the Cameroonian.
That one got Martínez's attention.
[Max] But for all the great work that Martínez has done,
he's the one with his back on the ropes.
And I thought he was just affected by a right hand by Mbilli.
[Jon] Oh, body shot from Mbilli. Good return connection by Martínez!
[Andre] Yeah, well, that time Martínez used the ropes.
He sat down and kind of sprang off the middle rope.
-[Jon] How did he land it, though? -[Max] At an angle.
[Andre] At an angle.
[Jon] At directly in front of Mbilli.
Oh, right hand over the top. There it is for Martínez.
-Oh, and Mbilli with a combination right. -[bell rings]
-[Jon] Eight rounds down. -[Andre] Unbelievable action right there.
Hey, hey, listen. They said we down.
[Max] Another good exchange.
It's almost like it's Groundhog's Day with these replays.
We're seeing the same type of combination,
but this time, it's a little bit different for Martínez.
It was at a longer range,
and Mbilli was unable to counter Martínez.
[Andre] But just as much as Mbilli gets, he gives.
As soon as Martínez thinks he's got momentum,
Mbilli comes right back.
That's conditioning, that's skill, but more importantly,
that's the will of both fighters.
[Jon] Eight rounds down, potentially two to go.
The winner of this fight figures to put themselves
in prime position for a mega fight at some point in 26.
[Max] And Mbilli is the Ring Magazine
number one super middleweight in the world.
[bell rings]
[Max] I don't use Ring Magazine because I work for Ring Magazine.
I've been using it for 25 years without referring
to sanctioning bodies.
Because their policy co-ops the legitimacy of the sanctioning bodies.
[Jon] Right.
[Max] The number one super middleweight in the world
is in this type of fight
with a guy who's unranked by Ring Magazine.
-But the division is that deep. -[Jon] Yeah.
Straight right hand for Martínez,
but back up against the ropes, not a good look.
Oh, right hand for him. Mbilli lands flush there.
-[Andre] Little angle right there, Max. -[Max] Yep.
[Jon] Martínez went to the left side of Mbilli body,
then he went back to the right side of Mbilli's body,
and he landed without getting countered. Good shot right there from Martínez.
[Max] Turns out a two-division world champion who retired undefeated
as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world
knows one or two things about boxing.
It's amazing.
[Jon] Every now and again, I can see something coming.
Skipper Kelp, talk to us.
[Skipper] Martínez is actually pretty crafty.
He just needs to go to it when he's putting his stiff jab out there,
getting angles and coming up the middle.
He has some skills. He needs to implement them.
-[Jon] Oh! -[Max] Oh!
[Andre] Mbilli looked wobbled to me there for the first time.
[Jon] Both fighters have taken a lot of punishment in this fight,
so now a punch end early on
that didn't rock you could rock you right now.
[Andre] Guys, Mbilli has the look of a guy
where two or three more of those could put him down.
[Jon] Big right hand for Mbilli,
but Martínez has landed a few consequential shots here round nine.
[Max] Look at Mbilli legs.
He presses, he needs Martínez to be, he needs to lean on Martínez.
[Andre] He needs Martínez to be there, right?
[Jon] You gotta recognize that, step to the side,
let him fall forward and take off on him on either side of his body.
[Andre] Or even let him fall into your shot.
[Jon] See, when his feet are against the ropes
and Martínez' back is against the ropes, he feels most comfortable Mbilli.
[Andre] This is the most danger I've seen Mbilli
or either fighter in in this fight.
[Jon] Feels like maybe Martínez senses it a little bit,
about 40 seconds to go in the round. Big uppercut for Mbilli now!
Martínez has an incredible chin.
[Max] Both fighters are hitting each other like it's personal,
and I really don't think it is.
It's just business, but this is just who they are.
[Andre] It's Rock'em Sock'em Robots right now.
We're at that point in the fight,
they're exhausted, and they're throwing heavy bombs.
Fight ending type shots.
[referee] On the bell, on the bell.
[Jon] Let's see who tries to steal the round.
Good sequence there for Martínez, and Mbilli now attacks the body.
-[bell rings] -[crowd cheering]
[upbeat music playing]
[Max] Martínez, I think this is the worst
either fighter was hurt in this fight so far.
At least that's what it looked like to me live.
Let's take a look in slow motion. Sometimes it tells a different story.
It just seemed to me that he was swaying
Mbilli was, and unsteady on his feet,
and his feet were close together and unbalanced. Dre?
[Andre] Dre? And that's that right hand at the top of the forehead
that we've been talking about, and Martínez recognized.
-[Jon] Mexican Independence Day weekend… -[crowd cheering]
…and a lot of these fans have come out to see that man,
the face of the sport, Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez.
No stranger to stadium shows.
That's your main event coming up in the not-too-distant future.
[Michael] A round of applause for the final round.
-[bell rings] -[Andre] Matt says a round of applause.
I'm clapping. These guys deserve it.
[Jon] Tenth and final round to decide the super interim middleweight title.
Christian Mbilli in black Lester Martínez in gold.
I said earlier in the night, Bohachuk and Brandon Adams,
Dana might want to do a BMF belt in boxing,
where these two would be two guys fighting for it right now.
[Jon] Oh, nice uppercut by Martínez. There's another one for good measure.
[Max] Anytime Martínez gets a little range,
he has a little bit more success.
Now, he's in range to be countered, but for whatever reason,
he lands cleaner and more efficiently with a little bit of range.
[Jon] Got a little over two minutes left in this fight.
Boy, if you would have told me we'd even be here
after that first round, I never would have believed it.
[Andre] I almost said in that first round, there's no way this fight goes
to distance, but I nailed it.
[Jon] We got two minutes left exactly right now.
-Oh! -[Andre] Big uppercut.
[Jon] And there's another short shot, lands effectively for Martínez.
Now, to the body. Mbilli is wearing it late in the fight.
[Max] I think Martínez must finally feel like,
okay, some of those things I was doing were having an effect.
It just took a long, long time. But Mbilli is still throwing these bombs.
[Andre] Took about nine and a half rounds.
[Max] Yeah.
-[Jon] Final 90 seconds. -[Andre] Oh, big shot right there.
[Max] This fight is far from over, guys.
Man, couple of huge rights from Mbilli.
Skipper Kelp has them decided by a point.
[Max] This is gonna be a long, 75 seconds.
[Andre] So, just for a little context, we mentioned it earlier,
this is the guy, Lester Martínez,
who Terence Crawford was rumbling with
for his whole training camp, getting ready for Canelo,
for whatever that's worth.
[Andre] He doesn't have the same kind of wrinkle
in his game that Canelo has, but he's durable, and he's a big puncher,
and he's got a lot of heart, and he's got some subtle skills, too.
[Jon] And Mbilli able to land as he presses forward.
And then a body shot by Mbilli
[Andre] Do either one of these guys still have the snap in their shots
to put the other one down late in the fight?
[Jon] As you speak.
[Andre] Yep, it could determine the fight.
[Jon] Martínez eats another left hand.
[Andre] I feel like counting down like it's New Year's right now.
[Jon] Big right hand for Martínez and now an uppercut!
[crowd cheering]
And Mbilli with an answer.
Final ten seconds.
[bell rings]
[Jon] And they both empty the tank down the stretch.
[Andre] BMF. That's what I'm talking about.
[Jon] Christian Mbilli and Lester Martínez go the distance.
Ten rounds for the WBC Interim Super Middleweight Championship.
Scorecards could be all over the place.
We'll get the decision to you next as we continue live.
[upbeat music playing]
[music concludes]
[Jon] All right, back live in Vegas.
The official decision is in.
Michael Buffer has it.
Ladies and gentlemen, before we go to the scorecards,
a round of applause for two fighters
in the ring tonight for their outstanding action tonight.
We go to the scorecards.
Patricia Morse Jarman scores at 97-93.
She has it for Martinez.
Chris Flores scores at 96-94 for Mbilli.
Glenn Feldman scores the contest…
95-95, a three-way split.
This bout is a draw, and Mbilli keeps his title.
Again, a round of applause for the two fighters who gave it all
-in the ring here in Las Vegas tonight. -[crowd cheering]
[Jon] Watch the crowd reactionary, Max Kellerman to the split draw,
but seems like a pretty appropriate result.
[Max] Let me tell you how good our guy Skipper Kelp is.
That fight was so hard to score
because they were both doing such good work.
And you had a three-way split draw,
meaning one judge, one guy, one judge, other guy, one guy has it even.
And Skipper's scorecard reflects exactly what I just saw.
I would've hate to have been a judge tonight.
[Jon] Right. Or any night,
but Christian Mbilli retains courtesy of the split draw.
Star power here tonight, not the least of which is Mike Tyson,
the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Shakur Stevenson is in the building,
good to have the legend Shakur with us tonight.
LeSean McCoy.
Check him out on inside the ring next Monday.
Jaime Munguía, recent opponent of Canelo Álvarez is with us here tonight.
Macaulay Culkin is here.
Oh, turning down his wife, Brenda Song, perhaps that was for the cameras.
Holt McCallany is with us here tonight.
Great to have Holt with us for Canelo versus Crawford.
Marshawn Lynch with camera in hand.
He got a nice shot of… Andre S.O.G. Ward from the broadcast booth earlier tonight.
Iron Michael Chandler of UFC famers with us tonight here in Las Vegas.
-[Max] He's been in some great fights. -[Jon] No doubt.
Wilmer Valderrama, avid combat sports fan.
The Heavyweight Legends are out. Lennox Lewis, Hasim Rahman.
And Marc Anthony…
also ringside tonight for Canelo versus Crawford.
All right, coming up next on Netflix, it is our co-main event,
proudly repping Cork, Ireland.
King Callum Walsh has been promoted masterfully by Dana White
and 360 Tom Loeffler.
He has handled myriad challenges en route to a 14-0 pro record,
but now the challenges get stiffer.
To that end, enter the fellow unbeaten, Fernando Vargas Jr.,
his father's senior there,
a legendary former two-time junior middleweight champion.
But now it's Jr.'s time to shine,
and he believes his experience and work ethic
have him in prime position to spring the upset.
Co-main event on deck from Vegas.
[upbeat music playing]
[music concludes]
[exciting music playing]
[Mario] Well, as we get you prime for the co-main event,
it wasn't that long ago that Fernando Vargas Jr.
was grinding away on the construction crew here on Al Davis Way at Allegiant Stadium.
It opened in July of 2020.
Work ethic not an issue for any of the Vargas boys.
And now, his opportunity to shine in this very same stadium.
So, Fernando Vargas Jr. charging into his Vegas hometown
with the weighty legacy of a famous name on his shoulders
and he is beyond ready to prove his boxing worth
against fellow unbeaten Callum Walsh as both men vie for a spot
in the Super Welterweight top ten.
[rock music concludes]
["The King" playing]
[Callum] I was a young kid when I left Ireland
and I think I'm a man now
with goals, with real things that I want to accomplish in life.
My goal is to become a future face of boxing,
to become a household name.
[commentator] Nothing about Callum Walsh's story to this point
has been traditional.
[Callum] At the end of the day,
what goes through my mind is I have a job to do.
No matter whether it's Netflix,
no matter whether there's 50 million people,
this and that, you know, who's watching, I have a job to do.
My job is to fight. My job is to win.
And now to be fighting a co-main event, Canelo-Crawford, it's crazy,
but I feel like I've worked very hard to deserve this.
I've put in the work,
I haven't just showed up and got things handed to me.
[commentator 1] Here's that left hand.
I do see this as an opportunity to introduce myself to the world.
[commentator 2] Minus-130 by knockout, King Callum Walsh!
[Callum] I want people to remember this performance as me
showing that I'm levels above.
[Vargas Jr.] Boxing runs super deep in my family.
My pops' name is Fernando El Feroz Vargas, or the Aztec Warrior.
He is the youngest Junior Middleweight Champion
in boxing history.
Everybody's gonna criticize me, compare, or, "Your dad was already this."
I want to show that this Junior is here to compete at the highest level.
[Vargas] Everybody thinks that Junior's off his side.
He's not the real deal.
But we're gonna see this fight that he's the real deal.
[Vargas Jr.] It's just motivation for me to do that extra round,
for me to push harder in the gym.
You guys are gonna see what the Vargas Bloodline is all about.
[Vargas Jr.] I'm ready to go to war.
When I come out, it's gonna be my show.
Everything that my dad's taught me until today
will beat the best Callum Walsh.
[Callum] You can talk all you want, you can say whatever you want about me,
but these are the talking for me.
[commentators exclaiming]
[Callum] I want this more than him, and you'll see that in fighting.
[Vargas Jr.] Callum Walsh is in store for a lot of pain and to be outclassed.
But we're going to see who comes out on top.
And I know it's going to be me.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat mariachi music playing]
…
[Jon] Team Vargas has been heard from loudly and proudly
all week here in Las Vegas,
but all eyes tonight are on Fernando Vargas Jr.,
17-0, with fifteen knockouts.
Andre, a lot of things jump off the film, the speed, the athleticism, the accuracy.
A lot of questions gonna be answered tonight as he draws Callum Walsh.
There's a lot to like from Vargas Jr. in his seventeen pro fights,
and he's found a way, at least for himself,
to try to avoid, in his own mind at least,
being compared to his father as much as he has,
but the truth is he's a Vargas.
And when you have a father like Fernando Vargas,
who had the career that he had,
you're gonna inevitably be compared to him.
And many are gonna be asking, "Do you have the goods?"
Well, tonight against Walsh, who's, a true
young up-and-coming fighter,
but he's got the mentality of a real fighter.
Vargas will be tested tonight.
[Max] Vargas is an athlete. You know, he's just an athletic guy.
I think he has more fast switches than his dad did, right?
But he's not an experienced fighter on the amateur level.
and what happens when you get an athlete
against a more schooled fighter whose muscle memory
dates back to his childhood, oftentimes the athlete is able
to do some good work, but then gets caught in an exchange
because his punches are not as automatic, they're not as deeply embedded
in his muscle memory.
I think Vargas's job tonight is to avoid exchanges, land your stuff.
But when something good happens,
you can't get overly excited and wind up in an exchange
-with a more schooled fighter. -[Jon] Masterfully put, as usual,
Callum Walsh started boxing when he was six,
Vargas Jr. really went all in at 16 or 17
because his dad initially didn't want him to box.
It was really Emiliano, the youngest brother, who wanted to box.
Family opened a gym, and the rest is history.
[crowd cheering]
[Irish folk music playing]
[Jon] Representing Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club, super boxing
at Santo Studio, Cork, Ireland.
Here is the King Callum Walsh 14-0 with 11 knockouts.
He is a sturdy athlete ready to put some punishment
on Fernando Vargas Jr. here tonight. Antonio Tarver with us all night,
what do you see on film from Callum Walsh?
[Antonio] When I see on film, this southpaw has a tremendous left hand.
Both of these guys are gonna have their left hand
staring down the pipe all night because they're two southpaws.
But with Callum, he has a confidence, wild confidence
that only a guy that really knows where he's going has.
He reached out to Dana White when he knew Dana White
was going to get in boxing, and he said, "I'm your guy."
And now, he's the co-feature in one of the biggest fights of the century.
And if he can pull off a big victory here tonight,
he'll be a household name going back to Ireland as the future champion.
So, I can't wait to see can this guy perform in this hostile territory.
[Max] You can reach out to Dana all you want,
but that doesn't mean he has to reach back.
And for those who would think, "Well, there's a built-in market there,
Ireland Irish fighter, he'll get behind him,
how good can he really be." There was no guarantee
that Conor McGregor was ever going to be a great fighter,
who said he'd beat José Aldo, right? But he did in spectacular fashion.
I believe that Dana has seen something,
sometimes you look for external signals, has seen something in this kid
that he believes is more than just marketing,
that there's something real.
And, Andre, in the fighter meetings, at the very least,
I got the same feeling.
[Andre] Yeah, we asked him some tough questions about Vargas,
he didn't hesitate.
He answered them the way you would expect a young, hungry fighter to answer.
I'm excited to see these two compete against each other tonight.
[Jon] All right, ready to go with our co-main event
as we get to the tale of the tape.
The 24-year-old Callum Walsh is undefeated
as his 28-year-old counterpart, Fernando Vargas Jr.
One inch in height for the Irishman
who will also enjoy a reach advantage of an inch and a half.
All right, now for your co-main event introductions, as only he can,
here is Michael Buffer.
[bell rings]
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Riyadh Season card,
Las Vegas continues with this special attraction
here at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Live on Netflix, the three judges scoring at ringside,
Eric Cheek, David Sutherland, and Don Trella.
And inside the ring in charge of the action at the bell,
your referee is Harvey Dock.
So now, it's power versus power.
Undefeated once again versus undefeated.
Somebody's O has got to go.
Ten rounds of boxing in the super welterweight division.
Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
standing with his head trainer, former world champion Fernando Vargas Sr.,
weighing in at 153 pounds.
He's wearing white with green and red,
and brings a perfect professional record to the ring
of 17 fights, 17 victories, including 15 big wins by knockout
from Oxnard, California, USA, the undefeated
Fernando El Feroz Vargas Jr.
[crowd cheering]
And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner,
standing with his head trainer, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach.
He's wearing orange, with green and white, and weighed in officially
at 153 one-half pounds.
He brings a perfect record to the ring also.
Fourteen fights, fourteen victories,
including 11 big wins by knockout from Cork, Ireland,
the undefeated
King Callum Walsh.
[crowd cheering]
All right, boxers, we know the instructions already.
As a reminder, obey my command at all times,
protect yourself at all times. Touch them up, good luck.
[Jon] Callum Walsh looks absolutely massive now among the challenges for him
coming in here tonight back to back to back training camps
suffered a cut in his last fight in June 84 days ago due to a head clash.
It's above his right eye,
and certainly Vargas Jr. has talked about targeting that very area.
-Here we go, guys. -[Jon] Harvey Dock, third man in.
Co-main event is underway.
Fernando Vargas Jr. in the multicolored trunks,
King Callum Walsh in the orange.
[Max] Both these guys fight with charisma,
meaning when they're in there, it's hard to take your eyes off them.
But both guys, that's true of both guys.
[Jon] The great Jorge Capetillo joining the Vargas family
in the corner of Junior tonight.
[Andre] Southpaw versus Southpaw.
You don't get to see this very often in the field of boxing.
[Max] Is there anything different,
or is it just basically a righty versus righty?
Or does something change when it's Southpaw-Southpaw?
[Andre] Yeah, because left-handers don't see a lot of left-handers,
so I think it's awkward for both of them.
[Jon] Walsh made his pro debut in 2021 at just 20 years of age.
Coming up on his four-year-anniversary of that debut.
[Andre] This is that feeling-out round you were talking about.
[Max] Right. High stakes.
[Andre] What we did not get to see in the last round.
[Max] High stakes.
And this is much more normal for a first round
than some of the first rounds we've had tonight.
The higher the stakes,
the more cautious fighters tend to be early.
[Jon] It's not that these fighters are not throwing punches.
-They're just measuring. -[crowd cheering]
[Max] Because they're trying to take the measure of their man
before they start really throwing like they mean it.
[Jon] Nice dip to the body as Vargas Jr. lands.
Walsh realizing some success downstairs as well.
[Andre] It's a lot different to see a guy on tape,
to watch his YouTube videos, than to ultimately be in there.
You can get to a point in your knowledge of your opponent,
but you have to be in there to get the full experience.
And that's what both fighters are doing right now.
They're taking that down low.
[Max] Vargas threw a probing jab to the body,
and you can see Callum Walsh was ready to pounce,
and Vargas got out of there. He didn't want that right hook.
[Andre] Walsh had Vargas against the ropes,
but because he wanted to load up and he telegraphed it,
he allowed Vargas to sneak out the side door.
[Jon] Good connection with the left hand to the body by Callum Walsh.
Boxing fans absolutely elated that this fight is happening right now.
Biggest challenge of both of these fighters' careers
by a significant margin.
[Andre] Reading the body language,
one fighter in Vargas wants to box and be smart,
and Walsh wants to land shots and get Vargas into an exchange,
and he's yet to be able to do that.
Walsh committed to that body early.
[Max] Walsh in the last several moments has made the ring a little smaller
-than he did early in the round. -[bell rings]
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] All right, back with round two in a moment.
Look up.
[Freddie] Don't move back, and let him get you on the ropes, okay?
Back him up, and put him on the ropes, okay?
If you put him on the ropes, he goes flying back to the head,
you'll crush him, okay?
All right, use a little faith when you have him on the ropes, all right?
Okay.
All right, let's go, champ.
[indistinct chatter]
[whistle blows]
[Jon] All right, here we go, round two.
Freddie Roach calling for Callum Walsh among other things…
-[bell rings] -…to use his physicality
to work Vargas Jr. up against the ropes.
Walsh working off of that lead jab here early round two.
[Andre] But that's what he has to do.
What you just saw right there, those three jabs.
If he wants to get inside, like, you could sense his body language
telling us he wants to. It's probably best to use a jab.
It's a lot safer, and it'll get you there a lot quicker.
[Max] See, Vargas, I think, is fighting the right kind of fight.
But this is what I mean by muscle memory. The hook to the body, Dre.
-[Andre] Right hook. -[Max] Yep.
This is what I mean by muscle memory.
It feels to me like Vargas has to do more thinking,
and put more effort into everything,
and Walsh can kind of more easily just let the muscle memory take over.
[Andre] Yeah.
-That's the late start for Vargas. -[Jon] Yep.
Walsh, as we mentioned, 18 years in the game, started at six.
[Max] See, that last combination came out
-so fluidly from Walsh. -[Andre] Effortlessly, yeah.
Doesn't mean that the guy with more experience is gonna win.
It just means that things are easier for him.
[Jon] Vargas Jr. realizing effectiveness to the body there.
Under two minutes to go, round two.
[Max] But I credit Vargas for recognizing that,
"Hey, this guy might be a little more automatic than me."
"I have to be careful."
[Andre] I mean, fighters have to learn to jab while they're thinking.
They have to learn to jab while they're processing,
and collecting data,
and while they're trying to set punches up.
Don't pose and just look at one another.
Stick the jab up and down, different speeds and cadences,
so you can get into a rhythm and land the shot you wanna land.
[Max] That's what I mean. Smart by Vargas, right?
He sets up his shot,
he uses his athletic ability and speed to land it,
and he gets out.
-[Jon] Good body work there by Walsh. -[Max] Vargas acknowledged it.
[Jon] When Vargas Jr. finds the angle, he doesn't miss a whole lot,
it's just about finding those openings and those patterns.
Coming up on a minute to go here, round two.
Good job defensively by Vargas.
And Jr. certainly acknowledged some of the challenges
growing up in his father's shadow.
Senior wouldn't acknowledge the twitchiness
that you tried to get him to.
[Max chuckles] I mean, I think it's the eye test to me,
but he's already done something with Walsh, guys.
He's broken his forward momentum.
Walsh is standing straight up and down, and kind of giving ground at times,
and then kind of bursting forward,
but not simply trying to find Vargas anymore.
[Jon] Skipper Kelp, what are you seeing?
[Skipper] Walsh jumps in and out in spurts.
Vargas needs to be more steady and throw jabs,
and be steady line, don't let the burst get the best of him.
-[Max] Good left hand from Vargas. -[Andre] Yeah, it was.
[Max] And good right hook to the body from Walsh.
Stop to bell.
-[bell rings] -Time!
[hip-hop music playing]
Hey! That was a great round. No. Hey, listen to me. One picture round.
[interpreter] "Take him back. You're making him walk backwards."
"He's not liking this, he's not enjoying this."
"You gotta continue with the--"
"Listen, if you keep doing the pressure until you can get him,
put him down, okay? Keep with the pressure, keep…"
"I need more strikes, I need him strong down,
and then keep on him, in the body, in the body."
"Let's just get him. Let's get him right now."
"And all if you put pressure."
"Listen, if you put pressure on him, he's not doing anything."
"Continue, continue. Okay. It's the same thing, okay?"
"Same combination, two strikes. It makes him walk backwards, okay?"
"Continue with the pressure with your gloves up."
"You need to keep your driver up…"
-[Jon] Boxing royalty, Roy Jones Jr. -[whistles blowing]
Checking out with our guy, Andre Ward, hall of game.
-The legends are out tonight. -[bell rings]
[Jon] Vargas Jr. corner pretty animated. They feel like they're seeing some things.
Walsh to the body. Nice way to begin round three for him.
[Max] Walsh looks to have come out with a little bit of a different attitude
in his third round, Andre.
[Andre] Yeah, if he can keep those body shots coming periodically,
they're gonna pay off for him.
[Max] I don't like the way Vargas just almost stood up
to meet that right hook.
[Andre] And I don't like the way Vargas is giving up
that same two-punch combination to the body.
He's not answering like he did right there.
I think more times than not, Vargas has to send
that silent but not so silent message that,
-"I'm not taking that tonight." -[Max] I gotta say, guys,
I am impressed with what I've seen from Vargas so far,
especially given the stage and the disparity
in terms of amateur experience, which usually tells on this level.
[Andre] He's not out of his league.
That's how Vargas should answer that body shot.
[Max] And then don't stay for the receipt.
[Jon] Nice connection to the body by Walsh,
who did believe overwhelmingly that he had the stronger schedule
coming into this matchup.
[Andre] And Walsh told me, he said-- I said,
"Do you think Vargas is in over his head?" He said, "I do."
I said, "Do you think he really is who he says he is?"
He said, "I don't." But that hasn't been proven true thus far.
[Max] And now, the question becomes for Vargas,
class tells over time.
The longer the fight goes, the more experience and level separate.
So, can he keep this level of intensity up?
And if Callum makes adjustments, can he then adjust to the adjustments?
[Jon] Unofficially twice as much output out of Callum Walsh here
in the early going.
A lot of that has been an investment in the body.
[Max] Yeah, even sometimes when Vargas is pulling away,
Callum's not going to the head, he's going to the body.
[Jon] Walsh completely entrusts his game plan to Freddie Roach.
Vargas Jr. to the body.
[Max] And there, Walsh had the right idea.
The more experienced fighter, let's exchange.
More-- He figures his shots will get there a little straighter,
and more automatically.
[Andre] Yeah, it's interesting seeing the Vargas boys,
because I think, thus far, they still have a ways to go,
but they've carried that Vargas name well,
and you can allow the pressure and the expectation of being a Vargas
crush you,
or you can allow it to spurn you forward and push you
because you know you have that pedigree, and you use it to excite you
because I wanna show my father that I can do this.
[Jon] Right.
[Max] No one has been able to really impose their will
on the other so far. They're both doing some good things.
-[bell ringing] -Time!
[hip-hop music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Don't give up, all right?
When you put the pressure on him, you're killing this kid.
Back him up, let's go. Let's be aggressive, okay?
Don't let him back you up. You back him up the whole round.
All right? You know you can do that.
All right? Little feints, little head movements.
Back him up, back him up. Put your combinations together.
Yep!
When you get in the front, start with the body,
especially the left hand.
[Jon] Former WBC super lightweight champ, Devin Haney,
ringside tonight
-for Canelo versus Crawford… -[whistles blowing]
…as is the living legend, Julio César Chávez.
I mean, he gets shown on camera,
-and Max Kellerman sort of… -[bell ringing]
-…goes back in his seat. -[Max] Can I tell you something?
The elevator door opened at the hotel last night,
and there was Julio César Chávez.
I've been in this game a long time. But some guys, it's like…
-Whoa. -[Jon] Yeah, yeah.
You should see how the UFC athletes react around him.
[Max] Chávez is one of the greatest fighters who ever lived.
[Jon] So, Freddie Roach, with a firm directive,
he said to Callum Walsh,
"You can at least be the guy backing Vargas Jr. up."
You did see Fernando able to back Callum up
a little bit there in round three.
[Andre] Walsh has good moments, but they're not sustained.
Good shot right there. Overhand right grazed the chin of Vargas.
-Took it well. -[Max] Left.
-It was the left hand, right? -[Andre] Yeah, yeah.
[Max] The backhand, right, 'cause they're a southpaw.
But that, Dre, was the most dangerous punch
of the fight so far, it looked like to me.
[Jon] Ooh! That's a big left hand for Vargas.
[Andre] And Vargas almost landed a left hand of his own.
[Max] Yep. But I don't like how Vargas is--
Vargas picks his chin up in the air a little bit.
And if Walsh can kind of clean him up with a hook,
that could be bad news.
[Jon] Short left out of the break, lands for Vargas.
[Skipper] Not a ton in combination out of Junior tonight.
[Max] Vargas' skill level belies his amateur background.
He's fighting like a guy who had an amateur career.
-[Andre] Pedigree. -[Max] Yeah.
[Andre] Being in the gym with his brothers,
having competition in the gym.
That'll expedite the process.
-Good shot right there. -[Max] Yep.
I don't see him getting caught with the kind of shots
the guys who haven't fought amateur get caught with.
Good right hook.
[Andre] Yeah, Vargas starting to find his range a little bit here round four.
Again, Walsh has good moments.
He lands good punches. He lands good combinations.
He's just not steady and consistent with…
[Max] I would say it's true of both fighters so far.
[Andre] I think Vargas has been a lot more consistent than Walsh,
but not enough to separate and start dominating the fight.
[Jon] Responsible guard from Vargas Jr., but that big left got through for Walsh.
[Max] It did.
A couple of shots there seemed to bother Vargas.
Just when Vargas looked like he was getting comfortable
behind the high guard and able to pick Callum Walsh's shots.
And another one, the left-hand key.
He's finding a home for the backhand, Callum Walsh is.
[Andre] And you can see confidence being gained by Walsh here.
[Max] Right hook to the body from Walsh.
[referee] Stop, stop, stop.
Keep those punches up. Keep them up. Let's go.
-[Andre] Ooh. -[bell rings]
[Andre] Nice way to punctuate the round for Walsh.
[Max] He did some very good work in that last minute, Callum Walsh did.
[Andre] Both fighters doing some nice things in this fight,
but it's a good overhand left from Vargas.
Those kind of shots
on the top of the forehead can do a lot of damage.
Didn't do a lot of damage in that moment, but there's Walsh,
comes right back with his own left hand, misses the right hand.
This is how this fight has been fought.
Nip and tuck. You hit me, I hit you. We exchange left hands.
Somebody needs to create some separation.
Every Irish dude I've fought, I went to the body and I stopped them.
So keep on going to the body, the way you're doing.
Hey, hey, I need you to… [speaking Spanish]
[whistle blows]
[Jon] His Excellency Turki Alalshikh alongside Dana White,
who has made his way inside Allegiant Stadium.
Mr. Beast has joined us.
-Jason Statham's been here all night. -[bell rings]
[Max] And it's those two men Turki Alalshikh and Dana White
along with Nick Kahn who I believe may have the formula.
-That's what we're all doing here… -[Jon] Yep.
…to usher in a golden age of boxing.
[Jon] A lot of traction already established tonight.
Figures to take it to the next level,
and it was very interesting for a lot of fans
to see how these two athletes would handle this platform,
this type of opposition.
-So far, pretty good. -[Andre] So far, so good.
[Max] And it's Walsh whose headline shows at famous arenas.
Vargas has not done that, so, Walsh should be more comfortable here.
[Andre] But this is when living
with the pressure of the Vargas name serves you well.
[Max] It's not like he doesn't know about big-time boxing.
[Andre] Or pressure.
[Jon] Good left hand, or so it appeared, by Vargas Jr.
We go on to two minutes here, round five.
Waiting in the wings, Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford.
Right on the belt line for Vargas.
Starting to see a little bit more in combination from Vargas.
[Andre] Mistake there from Vargas.
Sat right in front of his opponent, opened up,
Walsh saw him and beat him to the punch with a two-piece.
But Vargas took it well.
[Max] I mentioned class tells over time.
Dre, have you seen anything separating them?
[Andre] No.
[Max] I… Vargas has to really be fighting with tremendous intensity,
given the difference in experience
-for that to be the case. -[Andre] Yep.
[Max] Can he keep it up for another five-plus rounds?
[Andre] Got a lot of fight left.
[Jon] Good job with the lead hand there by Vargas.
[referee] Wait, wait.
[Jon] Oh, nice sequence for Walsh now.
Keep those punches up, Fernando. Keep them up.
[Max] With a guy who can apply pressure, and Callum Walsh can,
at this point in the fight or pretty soon
it needs to start feeling like the avalanche is coming,
like no matter what the other guy does he just won't stop there's more you know,
like a leaky boat every time you plug one hole another pops up
but that's not what's happening right now.
Let's go.
-[bell rings] -Time!
Hey, we need to be… [speaking Spanish]
[referee] You can't have any more low blows, all right? No more.
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "They're gonna take it away from you. Listen."
"We don't know what's gonna happen if you just touch him first."
"First bother him with low blow, and then you give him… Listen."
[continues speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "You need to get more, more combos, okay?"
"And whenever you're close to him, you have to go together."
"You start with the left, and then you go to the right."
"You need to put two jabs, and then run across."
"You need to cut the distance, so you need to go in there, Fernando."
[Jon] Well, the spotlight then at times has eluded.
Terence "Bud" Crawford has found him tonight.
He will challenge Canelo Álvarez here in short order…
-in one of the biggest boxing matchups… -[bell rings]
…in recent memory.
Now, though, co-main event continues here with round six.
Callum Walsh, Fernando Vargas Jr.
[Max] The biggest boxing matchup since Mayweather-Pacquiao.
And it will be seen tonight,
very likely, by more people than any fight since Muhammad Ali
and Leon Spinks rematch, 47 years ago, because of the platform.
Boxing's been siloed on pay-per-view
-for so long. -[Jon] Right.
Oh, a good body shot by Vargas Jr. Now, he goes up top.
[Max] He's following his father's instructions.
His father's nervous. Doesn't know if he'll get a decision.
Thinks he needs to step it up, and he's stepping it up.
And there is risk in doing so.
[Andre] When we listen in between rounds and you hear Fernando Vargas Sr.,
both father and trainer, talking, you can hear both.
You hear trainer, but you also hear the concern of a father.
[Jon] Yeah, that's a good point, Dre.
Under two minutes here, round six, as Vargas Jr.
changes his level and grazes the body of Walsh.
[Max] I think Vargas is letting Callum Walsh get a little too comfortable
going forehead to forehead there and kind of picking his shots.
[Andre] I think both corners should be calling for some separation,
and they should give them one or two things that they can do
to create that separation, because right now,
they're evenly matched, and they're going punch for punch.
[trainers shouting]
[Andre] I think one instruction should be, "When you land, don't give it back."
Don't allow Vargas, or in the case of Vargas, allow Walsh
to just step in and land a shot that the referees now don't know
who to give that exchange to.
I get mine you don't get yours.
Greedy on offense stingy on defense.
[Jon] Numbers suggest a far more efficient round here for Vargas Jr.
Walsh in the center of the ring.
[Andre] But then sometimes because guys are evenly matched,
you can't create separation.
It's just like that and we've seen a lot
of fights like that tonight where we're calling for separation
even the corners are calling for separation
but the fighters just can't do it.
[Max] And both fighters mentioned their nationalities
and the kind of pride in Irish boxing and Mexican boxing, right?
Mexican-American in this case.
But their ethnic backgrounds and the kind of temperament that they both have.
They're not those kind of,
"Hey, I'm going to get mine," and step off type fighters.
[Jon] You're seeing a lot more defensive responsibility here
than maybe we saw in our last matchup.
Final seconds of round six. Good connection by Walsh.
Oh!
-[Max] Big left hand from Walsh. -[bell rings]
[Max] But he did, but Vargas pointed out he hit him low
with the right hand, and he did.
[inaudible]
Keep 'em up. You aware.
Good job.
-How you feeling? -Good.
Good job.
Now, when you're backhand level,
you gotta go two, three, four type combinations.
[Andre] See another common exchange. That punch right there landed borderline,
but that punch landed on the button right there.
Vargas felt that.
It's at the end of the round again.
Borderline shot landed on the belt line, but it allowed Walsh
to land a clean shot that Vargas immediately looked
to the referee and said, "Hey, don't worry about the left hand."
-"He hit me low." -[Max chuckles]
Vamos, Fernando.
-[whistle blows] -[referee shouting]
[Jon] All right, round seven,
and that means this is the first time Fernando Vargas Jr.
will have fought into a seventh round…
-[bell rings] -…as a pro.
Seems to have plenty left in the tank. Callum Walsh in the orange.
Vargas Jr. wearing the green, white, and red.
[Max] Does it appear to you, Dre, that each guy is fighting as well
as they can at this stage in their career?
[Andre] I wonder, which is why I keep calling for separation.
But I'm not sure if they can.
[Max] It looks to me, so far,
that they've kind of fought each other to a standstill.
[Andre chuckles]
-[Andre] Ooh. -[Max chuckling] Oh.
-We're standing still for that. -[Jon] Yeah.
That's a good left hand now from Vargas.
[Max] Both had the same idea, trying to end the fight on one shot.
[Jon] Vargas Jr. loaded up there, unable to connect.
[Andre] I'm always led to believe there's another gear.
You may not even have the skill set to do four or five different things
to change the course of the fight, but your will is always present.
That's a decision you make.
And I think both fighters can press more if they wanted to.
[Max] But each one, there's a price to pay for pressing more.
They're thus far evenly matched.
[Andre] But then you got to ask yourself,
"How do I want to feel Sunday morning when I wake up?"
And all of a sudden, that price isn't as expensive as you might think.
[Max] By the way, guys, all fight card.
You know, how many times have we said that tonight already?
How evenly matched the fights are.
[Andre] Those are the small separators
in moments like this that you got to have with yourself.
The corner can't give it to you. You got to have that between the ears.
How do I want to feel when I wake up Sunday morning
and realize what happened Saturday night? I want to be okay with that.
[Jon] Walsh has been the busier man tonight.
He has landed 27% though, of his 434 punch attempts.
[Max] Boxing fans going to get used to this,
-not knowing who wins the fight going in. -[Andre] Yeah.
[Max] And tonight, not sure who won the fight going out.
Let's see what happens in the main event,
because it's already getting to be butterflies time.
[Jon] I'm telling you.
I think for a lot of these fans around the world as well.
As we come down the stretch of round seven here in the co-main event.
-[Andre] Body shot from Walsh. -[Max] And that set up the stuff upstairs.
The left hand to the body from Walsh.
[Andre] This has been a good fight.
Both fighters have done good things in this fight.
[Jon] Yeah.
[Andre] The skill set is evident. The heart is evident.
They have enough pop. It's respectable.
And it's still very early for both guys.
Seventeen fights for Fernando Vargas and 14 for Callum Walsh.
[Jon] Yeah, Walsh told us Vargas could have milked
that family name a little bit longer
before fighting him, but Junior pretty competitive tonight.
-Through seven, we got three rounds to go. -[bell rings]
[hip-hop music playing]
[Andre] Every now and again, Walsh will take a break
from punching at the head of Vargas, and he'll land a shot like that.
We've been talking about separation and what can separate these two guys.
It's the body shots, and then it's shots like this
from Vargas without giving shots like this back after you land.
But both fighters have been nip and tucking, and flow
-for this whole fight. -One, two. One, two.
One, two, three, four. Let's go. All right? He's yours. You own him.
[trainer] What do you got? How are you going to do?
Stay loose. Just let your ass go.
Knock, knock, knock. Put him on the ropes. It's over.
[indistinct chatter]
-[whistle blows] -Seconds out! Seconds out!
[overlapping chatter]
[bell ringing]
[Jon] All right, here we go, round eight.
Seems as though Freddie Roach feels like he can get a little bit more
in terms of the forward motion and activity from Callum Walsh.
[Max] As we'll show you, Skipper Kelp's unofficial scorecard.
[Jon] Just getting more consistently in combination
from Callum Walsh.
Forty-six percent of his punches tonight have been thrown in combination.
Twenty-four percent for Vargas.
[Andre] Those two shots that Vargas just landed,
it's just lazy posturing from Walsh.
Why did you allow him to land that little uppercut
with you leaning over your feet with no response from you?
Why are you letting him get off with two and three shots
and you're just accepting that, you're allowing that?
He has to learn that that's not okay because as the competition gets stiffer,
it's going to be a bigger price to pay for being lackadaisical like that.
[Max] I mean, the competition's pretty stiff tonight, you know?
[Andre] But if he wins and goes on, it's going to get stiffer.
And the shots that are grazing
and just missing may land and change the course
of your life and put your career on a different path.
[Max] You know, he isn't with a guy just about as athletic as they come.
Like, Vargas is a very, very good athlete, very athletic fighter.
[Jon] Couple nice body shots by Vargas.
Good connection with the right hand by Walsh.
[Andre] Vargas is not just athletic, he's tough.
[Max] And that combination of athletic ability and toughness can compensate
for a lot of the inexperience and is compensating for it.
[Andre] Again, oftentimes having that last name can work for you.
It'll give you that complex and that disdain about you,
like, I'm not who you think I am.
I'm not just my father's son.
[Andre] Good shot to the body by Walsh.
[Jon] And a nice combination by Callum as well.
[Max] Skipper had it five-three Walsh.
That means if the judges see it one round different,
it's a draw fight at the moment. Someone's got to take command.
Sorry, five-two heading into this round.
-So it could be six-two. -[Andre] I think it's a close round.
[Jon] Seems as though at least the latter half of the eighth round,
Walsh is starting to take control.
Oh, good shot by Walsh, partially blocked by Vargas.
-Strong final minute of round eight… -[bell ringing]
…for the Irishman.
[upbeat music playing]
We need to fucking go hard.
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "We have a freaking good fight in front of us."
"Okay? Let's put it backwards."
"Listen, remember, we got tired in sparring,
but we don't get tired over here, okay? Put it back."
"With everything, my son. Make him walk backwards, okay?"
[continues speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "Let's win this freaking fight, okay?"
"Just leave everything here. This is what makes you stronger."
"Leave everything here. Give them what you've got."
I don't give a shit. You gotta do everything. Let's go.
[overlapping Spanish chatter]
[interpreter] "Listen, it's very tight right there, it's very tight. Very tight."
-"Let's go." -[whistle blows]
[Jon] Inspired work in the corner as usual from Senior
and Emiliano Vargas and of course George Capatio.
Now, we see if the pupil…
-[bell rings] -…can respond in time
and bring that offense to the bigger man, Callum Walsh.
[Max] But it also shows you, I mean Walsh came in as the favorite
and I've been very impressed with how Vargas has fought so far,
but it also shows you who's very likely winning the fight.
Skipper has him up here unofficially. And in the corner, Freddie Roach is calm.
And Fernando Vargas Sr.
is telling him, "We gotta get this done now."
[Jon] Left hand partially lands for Vargas Jr.
[Max] Do you think that's one reason, Andre, that Walsh hasn't done some
of the things that you've suggested because he feels very comfortable
and feels he is going to control the fight?
[Andre] It's possible. I just don't think it's likely.
I think the more likely reason is just these are bad habits for him.
And maybe he thought he had a gear that he hasn't shown tonight.
And I do believe that Vargas is a lot better
and a lot tougher than he bargained for.
[Max] And certainly than he anticipated when he spoke to us.
[Andre] And you can see the frustration on his face going back
to the corner in certain rounds, like, "He's still here?"
[referee] Stop, stop, stop, stop.
[Andre] And that's the danger of believing the narrative
about a guy without you ever facing him.
You have to believe that he's better than what people are saying about him.
That's what keeps you, gets you up early and keeps you late
and brings you into the fight with the right frame of mind.
It's a tough place to find out you were wrong about a guy,
that guy being your opponent.
[Max] But Walsh is fighting a calm fight that suggests
he does feel in control.
[Jon] He has been the far more active boxer here in round nine.
A lot of the shots have been blocked by Junior,
but that's the direction in which Fernando needs
to be moving forward.
Skipper Kelp, talk to us.
[Skipper] This is a very competitive fight.
The rounds are really close.
Walsh is just doing a little bit more, but Vargas is in it to win it.
[Jon] Body shot a little bit low for Vargas Jr.
Under a minute now to go round nine.
[Max] See what that tells me.
Skipper just said is the reason Fernando Vargas Sr.
is imploring his son the way he is is not simply because he thinks
he's losing the fight but because he thinks the fight is there to be won.
[Andre] Well It's both, neither fighter can rest
on anything they've done in this fight especially in Las Vegas,
you know, how decisions go here. You can't assume that you're ahead,
you should be fighting with an urgency so if Callum Walsh is not
and he loses, lesson learned.
[Jon] Nice connection with the lead hand by Walsh
late in the round.
-Good jab by Vargas. -[bell rings]
Likely too little too late in that round.
[Max] Walsh keeping Vargas' hands at home throughout the fight
by being the busier fighter.
[upbeat music playing]
Last round. We gotta touch gloves.
[speaking indistinctly]
[indistinct Spanish chatter]
[interpreter] "This is for everything. You have the power."
"You have to believe you have the power. You're sent to war."
[overlapping chatter]
[whistle blows]
[Jon] And there is Canelo Álvarez getting the hands wrapped,
which can only mean one thing.
He is going to make that famed walk to the ring here…
-[bell rings] -…soon.
But now we get to our tenth and final round
in the co-main event.
Callum Walsh, Fernando Vargas Jr., Skipper Kelp.
Skipper Kelp has it, 88-83 for Vargas.
[Max] And now both guys are picking up the pace.
[Jon] Well, to back up your point at the end of round nine,
Walsh unofficially has thrown three hundred more punches
through nine rounds for whatever that is worth.
And he lands a nice left hand there.
[Max] As Andre's been saying, he's just sometimes Vargas sits there
and doesn't jab and doesn't stay busy.
And then Walsh, just by throwing some more punches,
keeps Vargas' hands at home.
And I also wonder, given where they are in their careers, given the stage,
et cetera, how much they saved for this tenth round.
[Jon] Left hand is there. Out of that clinch for Vargas Jr.
Jr. still just 28.
[referee] Wait, wait, wait, wait. Stay off his head.
[Jon] And that's the forward motion the corner's looking for.
Good jab by Vargas.
Five-punch combination from Walsh. A lot of those shots blocked.
Vargas' shooting is showing off the hand speed to the body.
[Max] Vargas' corner wants him to believe in his power.
Which suggests to me they think he needs something dramatic here.
[Jon] So the boxing discourse next week, regardless of winner,
is going to be,
did these men take advantage of the opportunity?
Does their stock go up based upon what we saw tonight?
[Max] So far we've seen tonight, I think the talk is going to be,
did you see that Mbilli-Lester Martinez fight?
[Jon] Good way to sidestep my question, champ.
under a minute to decide it.
Or the Adams-Bohachuk fight.
[Max] Yeah, those were incredible fights.
This fight is a learning experience fight
for two pretty evenly matched fighters.
If anything, it looks like Vargas maybe fought a little bit
over his head based on expectations
in terms of discipline against a more experienced guy,
and Callum Walsh may want to fight with a little more intensity
in the future against a fighter against whom he is favored.
[Andre] I agree with that.
[Jon] And I think Callum might agree with that as well,
but he is opening up here late.
Landed an uppercut
that caused some bleeding out of Vargas Jr.'s mouth a moment ago.
Oh, good right hand from Walsh.
[Max] Been a really good tenth round.
[Jon] Junior pressing forward.
[Max] Best round of the fight.
-[bell rings] -[referee] Time!
[Jon] Nice show of sportsmanship at the end of ten,
as Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr.
go the distance in our co-main event.
We wrap it up with the official decision coming up next from Vegas.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Well, we are all witness to a piece of boxing history here tonight.
The first boxing live event inside this great Allegiant Stadium.
And you can see some of what happens during this two-week odyssey.
Football fields out.
Boxing rings in.
And now we all await the pageantry that will accompany
Canelo Álvarez versus Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Truly once in a lifetime.
Now for the co-main event decision, Michael Buffer.
[bell clanging]
[Michael] And ladies and gentlemen, we go to the scorecards.
Eric Cheek scores it 99-91.
Same score from David Sullivan, 99-91.
And Don Trollor scores it, 100-90.
All three by unanimous decision.
Still undefeated from Cork, Ireland.
King Callum Walsh!
[Jon] Not too much suspense, Callum Walsh, your winner by unanimous decision.
[Max] You know, this is the scoring issue in boxing.
Not that the judges did a bad job,
but the scorecard doesn't reflect what we just saw,
because it's basically every round is one point, right?
So if one guy shades every round, it winds up wide
on the scorecards, even though we saw a competitive fight.
[Jon] All right, Callum Walsh, 15-0 as he gets it done as the favorite
in the co-main event.
Charlie Sheen, the new Netflix documentary,
is aka Charlie Sheen.
Jeremy Renner is with us.
You can see him as Dr. Nat Sharp
in a new Netflix film, Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
The great Sofia Vergara getting a nice response
from the crowd here.
Many of you are watching her Netflix series Griselda
right now.
Also with us tonight, the sports media mogul,
Stephen A. Smith.
Wiz Khalifa, avid combat sports fan, good to have Wiz in the building tonight.
Tony Gonzalez from your Kansas City Chiefs,
one of the greatest tight ends of all time.
NBA royalty Rich Paul is with us.
Sam Cassell, Tyronn Lue.
Tommy Hearns needs no introduction for many of you out there.
Dave Chappelle, one of the funniest men out there.
A lot of love for him here in Las Vegas.
Charlize Theron, another big-time boxing and mixed martial arts fan,
star of the upcoming Netflix film, Apex.
And the one, the only, Michael J. Fox.
All right, now with a very special guest over at the desk,
we send it back over to Mario Lopez.
Thank you, Jon. Let's welcome in a special guest
who is no stranger to big fights, both as a fan and on this big screen,
my man, Mark Wahlberg. Good to see you, brother.
-What's up, my brother? How are you? -I'm great. Thank you.
I see you brought something very special,
-the illustrious, Ring Magazine belt. -Yeah.
A belt with over a century of history.
Mark, what is it that makes this belt so special, man?
Listen, Jack Dempsey held this belt. This is not like your kind of usual,
sanctioned body where there's so many belts.
You have to do something extraordinary to hold this belt.
I mean, you're talking about Ali. You're talking about Marciano.
You're talking about Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Mayweather.
I mean, this is the elite of the elite.
[Mario] You're exactly right. There's no politics.
If you're wearing this belt, you are definitely number one.
What does it mean to a fighter to have this belt?
[Wahlberg] Oh, well, you're in rarefied air.
You know what I mean? What I love about this fight
is you have two guys who have extraordinary careers,
but they're willing to put their legacy on the line
to go against somebody who is also potentially going
to put a real damper on their legacy, tarnish their legacy.
-You know, this is the elite of the elite. -[Mario] You're exactly right.
It really defines you.
[Wahlberg] That's why it's made of solid gold, you know.
Hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars.
This particular bout for this fight made a solid gold.
Like you said, I can't let you go, my man, without getting your take on the fight.
What's your prediction?
Oh, man, you know what? I love them both.
I'm friendly with both and I'm rooting for both of them.
And I just hope they make it home safe.
If you ask me off camera, I have a little bit more detail.
But you know what? I'm not getting that phone call.
Fair enough. Fair enough. Keep it in neutral.
-I love you, my man. -You too, brother.
Great to see you. Las Vegas is the true fight capital of the world,
playing host to many of the biggest super fights in history.
Tonight we're gonna add one more to that list,
and we are counting down the minutes until "Bud" and Canelo make the walk.
Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.
[exciting music playing]
[music concludes]
-[upbeat music playing] -[crowd cheering]
[Mario] You're watching Canelo versus Crawford live
on Netflix, presented by Cash App.
We're counting down to the biggest moment boxing has seen in years,
maybe decades, if you consider just how many people will be watching us
in the Fight Capital, Las Vegas and all around the world.
Welcome back. I'm Mario Lopez, here with Antonio Tarver,
Mark Kriegel, and Mike Coppinger.
All right, gentlemen, it is prediction time.
-Will it be and new or and still? Antonio. -["Seven Nation Army" playing]
Well, I'm Bud County all the way. I think Bud County wins this.
Hey, listen. If "Bud" Crawford believes in himself enough to insist on this fight
and only this fight who am I to doubt him he can do it
from both sides, he's longer than Dimitri Bivel,
I see him by late decision, possible stopping.
Sorry, Mark, I'm here to tell you it's going to be Canelo Álvarez,
he's the face of boxing, and it's going to be and still,
he might not just be the bigger fighter but the better fighter.
I like his power, his strength, and his size.
Canelo Álvarez is going to win this fight.
Logically, most of the check marks favor Canelo.
We can't overthink this.
As special as Terence Crawford is, I'm going with the younger guy,
the bigger guy, the guy that's been more active,
and the guy that's gonna be representing on Mexican Independence Day weekend,
Canelo. So, we're all even here on the table.
Coming up next, one way or another, boxing history will be made.
Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez has done it all along,
roots becoming the biggest draw in boxing today.
And with status as the undisputed super middleweight king,
the Mexican superstar, chases further greatness tonight,
as he vies to be the first man to upend the unblemished Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Proud American has been producing knockouts at a furious clip,
and he has his hot sights set on this matchup for some time,
with hunger and discipline on high, Crawford is intent on producing
one of the biggest singular wins in boxing history.
The main event is next, live from Las Vegas.
[indistinct chatter]
[music concludes]
-[rock music playing] -[crowd cheering]
[Mario] Ladies and gentlemen,
the wait ends here. Now, live, from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
It is time for the Main Event for Canelo versus Crawford
to decide the Undisputed Super Middleweight Championship.
They are two of the best fighters of their generation.
Two former, if not present, pound-for-pound kings, largely.
Their fighting primes have played out simultaneously,
and tonight, at long last, otherworldly legends Canelo Álvarez
and Terence Crawford have shown up in each other's bracket.
Now, we find out together
who is the better man on this fateful night.
["Glory (silo x Oh1 remix)" playing]
[narrator] The ultimate promise of sports is simple.
The best must meet the best. It's what every fan demands.
It's what every era remembers.
Tonight, two of history's greatest step into the same arena,
and put legacy against legacy.
When greatness meets greatness and the dust settles,
who will remain standing?
[commentator 1] How many fighters have ever been called
the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world?
There haven't been that many ever. These are two of them.
[commentator 2] Canelo Álvarez, the biggest star in boxing…
-[commentators exclaim] -…faces Terence "Bud" Crawford,
a man who still holds the distinction in the minds of many
as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
[commentator 3] Crawford on top of him now,
trying to finish the deal. It's all over.
[Crawford] I wanna be remembered as one of the all-time greats.
And I gotta go through Canelo to do it.
[commentator 5] Crawford is fighting a guy,
three divisions bigger, and he's a killer.
But Crawford's special.
Fighters like Crawford come every now and then.
[commentator 4] He's a different breed.
[commentator 1] Terence "Bud" Crawford.
[commentator 2] He is on a whole another level.
[commentator 1] The only male to become a two-division undisputed champion.
[Canelo] He's a great fighter. He's a legend. But you know…
he's no Canelo.
[commentator] Canelo Álvarez,
one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time.
[commentators exclaim]
[commentator 1] There's a reason why he's the man.
He is one of the best finishers in all of boxing.
[commentator 2] Canelo looking to close the show.
[commentator 1] Pogolov's hurt. Pogolov's down. Pogolov's out.
[commentator 2] And the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the world,
-Canelo Álvarez. -Nobody in this world is untouchable.
I ain't scared of shit.
I stepped to him and showed him who is the boss of this fight.
He never fought anybody like me. I want to make history.
[commentator 3] The fight is over.
[Canelo] I'm a lead fighter. You know I'm different.
[commentator 3] All hail the king.
[Crawford] This is my era, and ain't nobody gonna stop me.
[Canelo] You're gonna be just like everybody else. Watch.
It's gonna be one of my best victories in my career.
[speaking Spanish] Viva Mexico, cabrones!
[Crawford] We're gonna make history. Terence Crawford,
three-time undisputed champion of the world.
I'm gonna win.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat music playing]
[rock music playing over instruments]
[crowd cheering]
[Mario] Chasing down one of the single greatest wins
of the last 25 or 50 years
in the sport of boxing, here is Terence "Bud" Crawford
Andre Ward you know this man well already the first
two-time undisputed champion in the men's game
in the four belt era chasing further greatness here tonight
-against Canelo Álvarez. -[Andre] Terence Crawford is a man
who doesn't shy away from challenges, and in this case he ran to it,
but he's in unfamiliar territory.
He's typically the alpha male, but tonight he's facing another alpha male
in hostile territory.
And the last time Terence Crawford was an underdog was
against Colombian fighter Reedus Prescott in 2013.
How does Terence respond to being the underdog tonight at this stage
in his career on this stage in front of the whole world?
I called that fight and he shut Prescott out
in a brilliant performance. I cannot think of another fighter whose
legacy will take such a swing based on what may be the last fight
of their career. Michael Spinks great
light heavyweight champion, he did business made history at heavy,
but is largely remembered
for offering Mike Tyson no resistance. He was too small.
If Bud Crawford loses, people will say
the first time he fought another truly great fighter, he lost.
He will not be remembered the same way as if he wins this fight.
It will elevate him and cement his legacy at the highest, uppermost echelon
of boxing history.
I cannot remember another situation where legacy hung in the balance this deep
into their career.
[Mario] Made his pro debut back in 2008 in Denver, Colorado,
realized his first world championship by beating Ricky Burns
on the road in 2014.
Self-belief doesn't even begin to describe it when it comes
to what this man thinks he can do, the IQ, and the mean spirit, Andre.
We've heard a lot about him
as a mean-spirited fighter here all week.
[Andre] Yeah, he just got that, the dog.
We call it the dog in professional sports.
A guy that if you hit me, I'm gonna hit you back.
And most guys, it's fight or flight when they get hit in the mouth.
Well, we gotta see what Terence Crawford does tonight,
because Canelo Álvarez is definitely on the hunt.
And what does that defectively competitive personality
of Terence Crawford?
It reminds me of Michael Jordan.
He is competitive about everything.
What does that mean if the going gets rough tonight?
If you can make it out of the early rounds
and we're in the middle rounds of a tough fight,
what does that pride do against the larger,
more powerful fighter?
[Mario] Terence Crawford has realized world titles at 135 pounds,
140 pounds, 147 pounds
and then in his last fight last August,
out-pointed Israil Madrimov
to become the champion at 54,
now moving up to 68
to challenge the undisputed super middleweight champion,
Canelo Álvarez.
-[music concludes] -[crowd cheering]
[thrilling music playing]
[music concludes]
[lively mariachi music playing]
[Jon] Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez
has won 11 World titles across four divisions,
as a 16-time pay-per-view headliner,
he has grossed north of eight hundred million dollars.
Tonight, with about as much fanfare as you could possibly imagine,
he makes the seventh defense
of his undisputed super-middleweight championship
here in Las Vegas against "Bud" Crawford.
And you believe it's the biggest fight of his career.
[Max] It's not only that,
but he is keenly aware of how much he has to lose in this fight
because he is the favorite and he's fighting the much smaller man,
at least a man who had to jump up several weight classes.
And because he's so aware of that, he refused to fall into the trap
that the larger, favorite fighter sometimes falls into
and be underprepared.
He got elite sparring.
He came in incredible shape to this fight,
and whatever Canelo has left, he is going to bring tonight.
[Jon] Canelo got a lot of heat for his last fight with William Scull.
Is he getting old?
Is that what we're gonna see in the Terence Crawford fight?
You better believe that "Canelo" Álvarez is gonna be ten times better
than he was against Scull.
Great fighters, all-time great fighters, they rise in atmospheres like this.
Canelo Álvarez is 7 and 0 in stadium headliners like this,
and I know that fact is not lost on a lot of the boxing masses.
This is uncharted territory, in some respects, for his opponent.
[Max] As much as Crawford has…
It's been made that this is the biggest stage of his career,
which it is, you know, by far.
It's also the biggest stage of Canelo's.
He is now about to perform in front of more people
than he has ever performed in front of before.
[Jon] Álvarez, no stranger to carrying the torch,
not just for this sport,
but especially here on Mexican Independence Day weekend,
where he is career 9-1 and 1 with six knockouts.
Sixty-three pro wins for "Canelo" Álvarez,
who, back in 2008,
fought on the same card with his six older brothers.
Last finish for Álvarez back in 2021 against Caleb Plant.
Wouldn't it be something
if he could be the first to upend Crawford tonight?
[upbeat music playing]
[Jon] Terence Crawford will be 38 later this month.
"Canelo" Álvarez turned 35 back in July.
Crawford is taller by an inch.
He also has a four and a half inch reach advantage.
Now for the official introductions for our headlining act,
the one, the only, Michael Buffer.
-[music fades] -[bell rings]
[speaking Spanish]
Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?
[crowd cheers]
[Michael] From Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas,
welcome to the Riyadh Season Card Main Event,
live on Netflix.
Two of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound,
are about to face each other in this main event.
Twelve rounds of boxing for the Ring Magazine
and universally recognized,
undisputed super-middleweight championship
of the world!
And it's all brought to you by,
special thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and the custodian of the two holy mosques,
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman,
and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority
and Saudi Boxing Federation, Turki Alalshikh.
This event is a presentation of Riyadh's season
with the General Entertainment Authority, GEA,
and it's all live on Netflix.
Sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
Chairman Dallas Hahn, Executive Director Jeff Mullen,
the three judges assigned to ringside,
Tim Cheatham, Max DeLuca, Steve Weisfeld,
and your referee in charge of the action at the bell,
World Championship veteran referee Thomas Taylor.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
the officials are in place and they are ready.
The fighters are in the ring and they are ready.
So, for the sold-out standing room only crowd
here at Allegiant Stadium,
and for the millions watching around the world,
from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA,
ladies and gentlemen,
-let's get ready to rumble! -[crowd cheers]
[Michael] Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
the challenger, wearing black with khaki and red,
official weight, 167.5 pounds.
His professional record is a perfect one.
Forty-one fights, 41 victories.
Thirty-one big wins by knockout.
From Omaha, Nebraska, USA,
He's a four-time, four-division,
two-time undisputed world champion.
Presenting the former lightweight world champion,
former undisputed super lightweight world champion,
former undisputed welterweight champion of the world,
and the current reigning super welterweight world champion,
the undefeated
Terence "Bud"
-Crawford! -[crowd cheers]
[Michael] And fighting out of the red corner,
wearing black and gold,
officially weighing in at 167 and one half pounds.
In 67 professional fights, he has 63 victories,
including 39 wins by knockout.
Only two defeats with two draws,
He's the four-time four-division world champion,
the former super welterweight world champion,
former middleweight world champion,
former light heavyweight world champion,
and the reigning, defending,
Ring Magazine undisputed super middleweight champion
of the world…
[speaking Spanish]
…Saúl
"Canelo"
-Álvarez! -[crowd cheers]
Right here, gentlemen. Right here, right here, right here.
Coach, right here. All right, gentlemen.
We got everything from the middle of the gold up is going to be good.
Middle of the silver letters here up is going to be good.
You got my instructions in the bag, gentlemen.
Protect yourselves at all times, listen to my commands.
Touch them up. Back to your corners, gentlemen.
[Max] Is "Canelo" Álvarez just too big,
too strong, too good?
Is he about to do what no one's ever done and beat "Bud" Crawford,
or, can "Bud" Crawford pull the upset
and become this era's GOAT.
The guy, that generations from now, this generation will say,
"I don't care who you bring, that's the best guy I've seen."
[Jon] Well, in terms of the extent to which size may matter in this fight,
Max Kellerman, you and others believe we will get that answer in short order.
As we begin round one of the super fight
for the undisputed super middleweight title.
"Canelo" Álvarez and Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Crawford opens out with that side pose stance.
[Andre] Crawford is a 17-year pro, 41 fights,
but he's still gonna have to adjust to this atmosphere,
to this moment,
and the reality that he's facing "Canelo" Álvarez in that ring tonight.
[Max] And the force of the punches, that's what I'm looking for early.
How does Crawford react to the force of "Canelo" Álvarez's punches,
especially to the body?
[Andre] Canelo looks slightly bigger than Terence,
but that's not the tell-all, the tell-all is when they clinch,
the tell-all is when those punches get thrown,
and to your point, when they start to lean.
Crawford had knocked out 11 straight foes
before going the distance with Madrimov back in August of 2024.
[Max] Madrimov was the biggest opponent he's faced as a pro,
and it seemed, largely because of the size,
his most difficult.
And that was two divisions south of here.
[Andre] A lot of boxing experts felt as though
Álvarez needed to be on the pressure early.
Crawford at times has been a slow starter, sometimes by design.
Álvarez is a master at his body position and taking ground
and making the ring small,
subtly and quickly in fights in that first round.
And you see him doing that right here.
He's just slowly taking ground,
and he's forcing Crawford to give up ground.
that can unnerve an opponent over time, that can drain an opponent.
I want to see how Crawford answers that tonight.
As is often the case on this level,
you're dealing with two of the highest boxing IQs in the game,
very fast processors, and they are studying each other right now.
Big right hand from Canelo blocked.
Body shot got through for Álvarez.
Two good shots for Álvarez.
[Max] First two real punches of the fight.
[Andre] Bad angle for me. That right may have been blocked.
[Max] By the way, the two first clean punches of the fight for Crawford.
Crawford shakes off that right hand offering
of Álvarez, who now changes his level.
Under a minute to go here, round one.
Everything Canelo's thrown so far, it's been
with force, but it's been blocked.
That attempt also blocked by Crawford.
[Max] The way Canelo throws, you better block those.
That one landed. Left hook to the body.
Good shot from Canelo.
Crawford can't give up too many of those.
[Max] That's where you find out, is Crawford big enough?
Can he take those kind of shots?
-Over time. -Over time.
Hey. Perfect.
-Just give me that little bit more. -You press.
Two one every once in a while. Little more.
That's working so good.
Hey, hey.
Use your leg, face him a little bit when you're trying to get close to him.
-Get that jab. -Okay.
-See if he'll bite it. All right? -Okay.
But make sure when you throw your jab, throw it to the hand.
Throw it to his hand.
And see if you're close enough to throw the double jab.
All right? You get him on that angle?
Crawford's coming behind the triple jab,
landed a nice clean shot on the ear and the side of the chin of Canelo.
One single shot from Crawford.
Didn't hurt Canelo.
but Crawford needs to land those kind of shots to get
in a lather and get in a rhythm.
[Max] And the other punch did not land,
but it forced Canelo's glove into his head,
which made it look like it landed.
The right hand.
Did you like that clean left from Crawford?
Did you like the left hook to the body and the greater activity from Canelo?
And you might have heard Bomak Brian McIntyre looking
for Crawford to employ a few more feints here early round two.
[Andre] He needs to not only employ feints, but the jab.
Bomak asked for the jab,
and he has to continue to do that to try to keep Canelo at bay,
though Canelo is a great counterpuncher,
but it also helps Crawford get into a rhythm.
But that shot right there that Canelo landed,
and he's landed it in the first round,
is a shot he uses often with southpaws.
He doesn't throw the punch where they necessarily are,
but where he thinks they're gonna be.
It may not look hard, but it's a hard shot,
and Crawford has to find a way to not give up too many of them.
[Max] And Crawford has landed cleanly and has reddened Canelo's face this round,
but I think more importantly, he has to make Canelo believe
that he's fighting a real super middleweight,
that he's fighting another guy his size.
Nice slip there by Crawford, getting off the center line.
[Andre] Canelo is not a jabber.
It's not something he does very often.
His gift is pressuring with feet and cutting off the ring,
like we talked about in the first round, and making
that ring seem a lot smaller than it actually is.
And you see him doing this right here.
Partial land to the body by Álvarez under two minutes here, round two.
[Andre] Crawford not only has to jab.
Good exchange from both guys.
That looked like Crawford touched Álvarez on the way in.
[Andre] But he also has to feint Canelo.
It has to look like he's gonna do something,
even when he's not.
It keeps the harder puncher off balance, keeps him thinking,
and allows Crawford to land shots that may not be knockout shots,
but shots that get respect and build points.
[Max] Crawford's doing some good work, but now the question is…
If and when Canelo lands cleanly upstairs, what happens?
Because that has not happened yet.
And he is a big, strong super middleweight.
[Jon] Canelo looks a lot different tonight than he did yesterday at the weigh-in.
[Max] Rehydrated.
There was no rehydration clause, by the way.
Canelo can weigh whatever he wants tonight.
After making weight yesterday morning.
[Jon] And Crawford seemed none too concerned with any of that noise
as he partially whips the body as Álvarez exits.
Getting a little bit more in combination from Crawford here in the early going,
under 30 seconds to go, round two.
[Max] Crawford got Canelo on the back foot just a moment.
-Canelo used to be… -[Jon] Hold on one sec, Max.
You gotta believe Canelo's looking for a counter,
even though his back was against the ropes.
[Max] Right, Canelo used to be a masterful counterpuncher
with his back against the ropes.
He liked taking opponents there and countering.
Listen for the bell, gentlemen.
-[bell ringing] -Time!
[Jon] Round two in the books.
[Andre] Crawford slowly starting to land a few more shots.
Canelo landed that left hook, and Crawford answered
with a right hook, missed the left hook.
But that's what Crawford has to do when Canelo comes forward.
He can't be mindless with his defense.
He has to be defensively responsible,
but he has to start countering Canelo more and more to get that respect.
[Max] You saw Crawford land the check hook as Canelo was landing the body shot,
which took something off of the body shot.
[speaking Spanish]
[Max] But in lower weight divisions, that check hook
may have produced more of an effect.
[interpreter] "You have to give it more."
You know what you're doing. You're ready to go.
[Jon] WWE star power with us tonight, Triple H alongside Stephanie McMahon.
Great to have them with us as we arrive at round three
of the mega fight, Canelo Álvarez and Bud Crawford.
[Andre] You know, the fight is still early, but Crawford has had inactivity
over the last two or three years. Good shot right there from Canelo.
But the inactivity or the rust has not shown.
It looks like Crawford is fresh and that he might have needed
that rest at least at his age. He'll be 38 right after this fight.
[Max] He doesn't look like a rusty fighter so far.
[Jon] Yeah, much was made of that angle. Also the angle that Álvarez had fought.
Five hundred and twenty rounds as a pro to 245 for Crawford.
[Max] What you do notice, he also doesn't look so much smaller
than Canelo, really.
At least the effect hasn't shown up in the ring.
But you do notice Crawford is doing the better boxing so far.
Not by a lot, but by some.
[Jon] But the effect, the punch's effect on Canelo
is not like the punch's effect on lighter weight fighters
through two and a half rounds.
[Andre] And in these moments right here, these last 30, 40 seconds,
even though Crawford is landing some shots,
Canelo's trying to send a message to Crawford.
With the punches he's throwing and the pressure he's applying.
So far, Crawford hasn't gotten the memo.
[Jon] You might have seen Skipper Kelp's unofficial scorecard.
Gave Crawford rounds one and two.
[Max] I could see it. I thought the first could have gone either way.
I could see giving the second to Crawford.
[Jon] Good body shot right there from Canelo.
A signature lead.
-Left hook to the body. -[Max] Yeah, that's a good sign
for Canelo Álvarez. Skipper Kelp, talk to us.
[Skipper] Right now Crawford's just doing a better job
of managing the distance of the fight
he's where he wants to be right now.
[Max] Good point.
[Jon] Crawford got that right hand in the way of that body shot from Álvarez.
Both guys landing below 20 percent here early on.
[Andre] You study Canelo Álvarez, you gotta know that he'll have
three or four times a round where he presses.
You can sense it, you can see it in his body language,
but then he needs to rest.
So Crawford is trying to press and stand his ground more
when Canelo wants to rest, which is what you see right now.
[Max] Which breaks Canelo's forward momentum,
can't get a head of steam going.
[Andre] That's the most responsible time to build up points
if you're Crawford, is when Canelo wants to rest.
[Jon] Good response by Crawford after Álvarez touched the body.
[Max] Yeah. We know that Crawford is the sharper boxer.
What we haven't seen yet is what happens
if and when Canelo lands something hard upstairs.
-[Jon] Good shot from Canelo. -[Max] Canelo likes to change levels,
but so far the hard shots have been all downstairs,
but it's not going to be that way all night.
[Jon] Some useful body work from Canelo Álvarez in round three.
[coach] Beautiful.
[overlapping chatter]
Beautiful. Hey, keep touching him. Keep touching him.
Upstairs and downstairs.
What you're doing is you're setting a trap for him
because you know he's going to try to come with that wild shit.
All right? But it's a touch, touch, touch.
As soon as you look like he getting ready to go, maybe get low and then go.
Catch and go.
He getting frustrated because you're making him mad.
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "Very close, wasn't it, but it wasn't needed."
"You have to move your hips a little bit, and grab effort."
"You're really at close distance, you need to work more shoulders with it
as he comes back. Always, listen, he's coming back to you."
-[whistle blows] -[interpreter] "He's not coming back
and finish this movement. He's coming back to you right now."
[Jon] Earvin "Magic" Johnson was not gonna miss
being front row for Canelo versus Crawford.
Here we go, just like that, round four of a possible 12.
[Max] So far, however you have it scored,
and I suspect it's something like two-one Crawford.
Skipper Kelp may have it 3-0, because he gave the first to Crawford,
which Crawford may have won
with the only clean shot of the round.
So far, Crawford is fighting his fight,
and he has neutralized Canelo's offense.
[Andre] Those counters are very, very important.
You want to get your respect?
That's how you do it.
[Max] Those were hard shots upstairs that seemed to bother Canelo
and enraged him.
[Jon] Álvarez presses forward,
but he got touched on the way out by Crawford.
[Max] On the one hand, if you're Crawford good,
Canelo lose control.
On the other hand, if he turns it into a kind of hunt-you-down fight,
maybe that makes Canelo more dangerous at this size.
[Max] That was the first real bad-intentioned shot
-that partially landed upstairs. -[Andre] Now, that was the…
That was a good shot right there.
That right on the button from Canelo Álvarez.
And Terence Crawford took it away.
[Max] He took it well. That's what I've been waiting to see.
[Jon] Right out the guard now for Crawford,
shortly after Canelo had landed his most consequential strike of the fight
and landed a right hand there.
[Andre] Crawford's gotta make that adjustment.
Canelo seems to be able to land that right hand, the overhand right
and the straight right as often as he wants to.
[Max] Well, I feel like Crawford's catching it mostly with his glove, Andre.
[Andre] But you don't have to land clean to inflict damage.
[Max] That's right.
[Andre] It's not something you wanna give a guy like Canelo.
early in this fight.
[Max] And then Canelo just hit him hard in the chest with that right hand.
And that's the first real clean,
hard power shot upstairs that landed cleanly for Canelo.
[Jon] Álvarez starting to open up here. One minute to go in round four.
Good moments from Canelo.
[Andre] Downstairs, upstairs, good counter,
but Canelo's getting in a bit of a groove right here.
[Max] When Canelo got his dander up,
he started becoming more effective as an aggressive fighter.
Can Crawford convince him not to be so aggressive
with some counter shots?
[Jon] That's a significant left hook from Crawford there a moment ago.
Follows it up with a jab now.
[Andre] Side to side movement from Crawford, nothing fancy.
Fundamental boxing is to keep Canelo Álvarez just
off balance just enough.
Listen for the bell, gentlemen. Listen for the bell.
[Jon] Álvarez commits to the right hand and lands.
-How you feeling? All right. Hey, hey. -Cool.
[Andre] The exchange from both fighters, that left hook
that Canelo's been landing, uppercut from Terence Crawford,
a two-three piece from Terence Crawford,
letting Canelo know, you cannot reach
for me without me trying to teach you a lesson,
and that was the best punch of the fight thus far.
Crawford took it well, but Canelo starting to find a home for the right hand
as Terence Crawford is in the southpaw stance.
[Max] Two clean right hands upstairs from Canelo,
particularly the first one.
Crawford took them well.
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "He tried this much with the body."
-"He had to aim a little higher." -[whistle blows]
[Jon] WWE superstar Logan Paul.
Not necessarily the crowd favorite here, but they will uptick
for Iron Mike Tyson.
All right, so Crawford's good work largely in round four was done early.
Canelo's late round five has arrived.
[Max] It's a hell of a fight so far, contested at the highest possible level.
Not a war, but a high-level chess match where
punches are being thrown with bad intentions.
[Andre] I believe these fighters are gonna get a lot more violent as it progresses,
these mid and late rounds.
[Max] A lot of pundits were expectant that Crawford
would fight predominantly out of the southpaw stance.
That's exactly what he has done.
[Andre] He seemed to be more comfortable in his biggest moments
in that left-handed stance
at least these last five or six years.
You see him predominantly good right hand from Canelo fighting
that left-handed stance almost exclusively.
Canelo doing some very good boxing in this round from the outside.
Again, Canelo doesn't jab, and he's able to still land punches.
Imagine if he did come behind the jab.
I think he's learned how to not be a jabber
but have right foot position to get the shot that he wants.
[Max] And that means, well, there was a jab,
but everything comes hard for Canelo.
[Andre] Both fighters just missed two very dangerous shots.
[Jon] Crowd trying to get behind the Mexican superstar.
You may have seen Skipper Kelp as yet hasn't found a round
for Canelo Álvarez through four.
[Max] Might find this one if it keeps up like this.
He's keeping Crawford's hands largely at home
by staying busy, head and body.
[Jon] Good counter jab there from Crawford.
[Max] Well, here looks like the break that you talked about, Andre,
where Canelo's trying to rest.
This seems like Crawford's opportunity
to steal some of the momentum in this round.
[Andre] Yeah, but I think Crawford believes
that Canelo's baiting him, so he doesn't have to take that chance.
[Jon] Round five, historically, for whatever it's worth,
has not been kind to Canelo Álvarez. Under a minute to go here in the fifth.
[Max] Been a pretty good round five tonight.
[Jon] Tonight it has been.
Oh, beautiful body shot by Álvarez.
Body shot gets through, head shot was blocked by Crawford.
[Max] Crawford on his bike there.
[Jon] Álvarez stalking.
Thomas Taylor hasn't had to break up much tonight.
[Andre] You knew there had to be at least one of those.
If I'm the bigger man, been in the weight class,
I gotta pick you up at least one time tonight.
[Max] Does Crawford respond in kind?
-[speaks Spanish] -[interpreter] "Let's go, let's go."
[indistinct chatter in Spanish]
[interpreter] "Everything okay. Everything okay."
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "We have to win round by round, right?"
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "Please, come back to the guard as soon as possible."
"And when you ever hit him in short distance,
you cannot forgive him. You have to inflict damages, okay?"
"Just like we did. And come back as soon as you possibly can."
-"And you have to protect." -[trainer] Here we go. All right?
-Great. -[speaking Spanish]
[trainer] Yeah, he's trying to get underneath you.
-You see that? -You do, you do.
[speaking indistinctly]
Good work. Good work.
[speaking indistinctly]
[Jon] Former heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder.
With us here in Las Vegas.
[Max] Something changed in that fifth round.
It went from a fight, however you scored the first four exactly,
it went from a fight where basically Crawford was outboxing Canelo
to a fight in the fifth round where basically Canelo
was overwhelming Crawford's defense with volume.
And here Crawford seems to be trying to take the play back.
[Andre] I don't think Crawford liked that last round.
Now, Crawford, both of these fighters punch a boxer.
[Max] Oh, good. Left hand…
That's the kind of left hand that really hurt Errol Spence on his way in.
[Andre] Crawford doesn't…
Yeah, Crawford really doesn't want to be moving as much as he does.
It's not his forte. He knows he has to do that tonight, but…
He's trying to take advantage of moments where he can get off
and be his normal self,
and we just saw that a few seconds ago.
[Jon] Slick uppercut a moment ago by Crawford,
and some appreciable swelling around the right eye of Álvarez.
[Max] Best punch of the fight so far, I think,
was the left hand from Crawford that caught Álvarez coming
in and kind of doubled the impact.
[crowd clamor]
[Max] And you can see the redness around Canelo's right eye.
[Jon] Crawford starting to show bone a little bit,
cracking that wry smile.
[Andre] Even that left hook that Terence Crawford just caught
a few seconds ago, that shot has a lot of power on it,
and it oftentimes spooks and scares opponents for Canelo,
which makes them keep their hands at home and not throw punches.
That's not the case with Terence Crawford tonight.
[Max] Crawford has not really gone to the body in this fight.
It shows the respect he has, I think,
for Canelo's power and counterpunching ability.
[Andre] Doesn't want to make the mistake and get caught reaching.
And it's right. You did lean back. Hey, stop.
You did lean back, opening it up. Just keep them up.
We're good. Go.
[Max] Right call by the ref.
[crowd clamor]
[Andre] Crawford looks to be a lot more comfortable, Max,
to your point, in this round than he did in the fifth.
[Max] He made a statement to start this round
because he knew he had to break Canelo's forward momentum.
[Andre] And he also knows that he's up in this round right now,
so he's not taking any unnecessary risk.
The burden and the onus is on Canelo to try to close this round out.
[Jon] The champ gets through for Crawford.
[Max] Crawford might want to punctuate this round
with something else hard before the end
to say, "hey, there's distance between you and me."
Like that.
[Jon] That came after Álvarez had landed a pretty significant right hand.
Thirty seconds to go, round six.
[Max] Because we're starting to enter the area of the fight where what happens…
starts to shed light on what has happened to that point.
And Crawford right now is highlighting that he, in fact,
was outboxing Canelo early, and it has started to add up.
[crowd clamor]
[Andre] Crawford looked very comfortable right now.
[referee] Listen for the bell.
[Jon] Pulls around for Crawford.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Max] As big as the fifth was for Canelo, it was at least that big,
if not more, for Crawford in the sixth.
-[crowd cheering, applauding] -[upbeat music playing]
-[speaking Spanish] -[interpreter] "Breathe. Let's go back."
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "We have to be more active."
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter speaking indistinctly]
"We have to connect."
"Whenever you get in there, get to the body, okay, sir?"
"All right, get to that body. Let's go."
[Andre] Canelo had a great fifth round,
and Terence Crawford knew he had to make a stand in this sixth round.
That shot got Canelo's attention as Crawford's back was against the ropes.
It's a good shot from Crawford,
and that shot and that exchange allowed him
to box the way he wanted to for the remainder of the round.
[Max] It wasn't a jab exactly, but it was a similar kind of punch
that caught Errol Spence coming in and floored him.
Canelo's a much bigger, stronger…
-and better fighter than Errol Spence. -Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
[Jon] Timing, though, was perfect on that left hand from Bud Crawford,
and here we are, round seven.
[Andre] Canelo's landed early in this round.
That's the third shot that Canelo's landed,
and you see Crawford testing the waters,
trying to go a little bit deeper. Can I stand here? Can I exchange?
[Max] He's not backing up from Canelo's power.
[Jon] Good uppercut by Crawford. Álvarez out of range on the return.
[Max] This is a significant statement Crawford is making
if it continues this way.
Not only is he not backing up from Canelo's power,
but he may be doing more damage with his own in these exchanges.
[crowd clamor]
[Jon] And again, that responsible defense of Crawford
on display under two minutes here, round seven.
[Andre] It's a gamble and a negotiation that Crawford is gonna have to have
the whole night. How long do I stay in these quarters?
How much can I exchange with Canelo?
When do I box, and when do I fight and get my respect?
[Max] As the great James Toney used to say,
you need to bring ass to get ass.
And Terence Crawford is bringing ass tonight.
[crowd clamor]
[Jon] Skipper Kelp, what are you seeing?
[Skipper] Downloaded the data he's been looking for.
He looks very comfortable inside right now.
[Max] Crawford got off to a good start, largely hasn't looked back.
[crowd cheering]
[Max] Both fighters landing at a 29 percent clip
just over the midpoint of this fight.
[crowd clamor]
[Jon] Álvarez throws in the distance.
[Max] He has him where he wants him. Canelo got him in the corner.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Max] But in that exchange, Crawford got at least as good as he…
Gave at least as good as he got.
[Jon] Nice shot to the body by Álvarez.
[Andre] You know Crawford's feeling good because he's staying there longer.
He's not allowing Canelo, but when Canelo punches,
if he lands or if he blocks it, you see Crawford coming right back.
That's a respect thing.
[Max] Neither man has really hurt the other man yet.
They felt each other, but I haven't seen either guy hurt yet.
The question over the back half of this fight is,
is that going to happen for either guy?
And not just that, but we have to watch the conditioning of both guys.
[Max] Oh, and that can lead to sometimes
those same shots hurting you in the back half.
Listen for that bell, gentlemen. Listen for the bell.
[Jon] Crawford working off that jab
-late in round seven. -[bell ringing]
[crowd cheering, applauding]
How you feel? Good?
Hey, you don't got to get into no firefight with him, okay?
Just keep boxing that motherfucker.
He's going to get desperate,
and you're going to be able to run him into something, okay?
Just keep boxing him.
If you stop and you're looking for something,
get on the ball with that back foot so your screen can be better,
so you can have a little bit more snap when you're punching.
Good. Good.
-[Eddy speaking in Spanish] -[interpreter speaking indistinctly]
"Now, you have to make sure you're up there. We came to win."
[speaking Spanish]
[interpreter] "We have to do it with heart
and we have a lot of freaking heart."
[Jon] Round eight of a possible 12
to decide the undisputed championship.
Crawford and Canelo.
Skipper Kelp has Crawford up six rounds to one.
[Andre] What you see with both of these fighters
is one fighter is bigger,
not by much, but he's bigger, and he's stronger,
but not in the way where he can do whatever he wants
to do with Terence Crawford.
[Max] And the resilience of Crawford, his punch resistance
at this weight has been impressive
because Canelo has nailed him, and Canelo is a punch…
[Andre] But when you boil yourself down, your punch resistance is affected.
Thus far, Crawford has taken the big shots from Canelo, the single shots,
and even the two-piece that he got hit with very, very well.
[Max] And that's the thing. At this level, I mean, everyone's gonna get hit.
[Andre] Yeah.
[Max] Can you hit him two and three times?
And Crawford's been the one to do that so far.
[Jon] And can Álvarez rally if need be?
Right, got off to a big lead against Bivol
before the latter rallied.
Nice shot to the body by Álvarez. Two minutes to go, round eight.
[Max] Crawford acknowledged that body shot.
[crowd clamor]
[Max] Quick hands from Bud Crawford. Changing levels there.
[Jon] Álvarez with effect to the body.
[Max] Crawford's been honest.
He shook his head yes when he felt it to the body,
said no when he didn't, I guess.
[Jon] Álvarez trying to get something going again.
Good defensive responsibility from Crawford.
[Max] Álvarez has done some good work in this round.
[Jon] Álvarez just a tremendous ambassador for this sport.
He has done so much for his fellow fighters,
past and present.
He is affable, and he just landed a pretty significant right hand there,
under a minute to go, round eight.
[Max] These are dangerous punches for Crawford,
because Crawford is feeling himself right now,
and Álvarez is throwing knockout shots.
Pull the arm out, Terence.
Canelo, let go. Stop, stop, stop. No punch.
Straight back. Go.
[Andre] So Crawford trying to get some respect himself.
He didn't quite lift Canelo up, but he got him off one leg.
He wants to let Canelo know that I'm here, too.
But to your point, Max, Crawford has
to stay focused because no matter how easy it may feel in spots, you have
to know that Canelo is still pressing forward, and he will always
be dangerous as long as this fight is going on.
[Max] Ryan Garcia, who's trained with Canelo,
told me that Canelo throws everything hard to sell his feints.
Because everything's coming hard, you can't guess wrong,
so you must respect his feints.
[Jon] Eight rounds down.
He tried to touch his glove.
[Andre] It's interesting right there.
The end of that round, Terence Crawford looked at Canelo Álvarez,
and now Canelo Álvarez extended his glove.
Terence Crawford did the block.
When you stop, you're on that back toe, and you got that little rhythm.
You got that upper body movement, okay?
All right?
Because he's going to come with the wide shit.
He's going to come with the wide shit.
He go wide, you go to the body like you've been doing.
Deep breaths.
What you got, coach?
All you got to do is do what you're doing.
Bring your hands back.
Bring your head back.
[overlapping chatter]
[interpreter] "We worked a lot good counters."
"You have to keep it close, keep it tight."
"Keep your height guard."
"You have to get more combos, more to the body."
"Three, and then you have to work on your defense as well."
"Let's go, let's go."
"Let's go, let's get some air."
[Jon] Yeah, that's interesting,
Andre, Canelo Álvarez looking for a fist bump between rounds.
The no-nonsense Bud Crawford not having it.
Here we go, round nine.
Oh, and that's a good early land by Crawford.
[Max] It's, it's, I think it's more than no-nonsense.
As Teddy Atlas would always say, Canelo was looking to be friends,
and Crawford is not looking to be friends.
[Andre] Great exchange
from Terence Crawford right there.
Canelo's landing, but not like Terence Crawford
in this exchange.
[Max] This is furious action.
[Jon] Crawford circling back to work off of that jab,
but everything out of him, combination here early round nine.
-Time. -[Max] They're not gonna--
Crawford, what's up man?
Got a little bit of a cut.
Take your time. Just let me know when you're ready.
[Max] There's a cut over Bud Crawford.
-Right eye, it looks like a small cut. -Stay right here for me.
-Hey, hey, hey. -[Max] Not sure about it,
but from here it looks like there is.
Terence.
Got a cut. Accidental headbutt.
Let me see it.
You're okay. We're not going to look at it right now.
All right? Stay right here.
Jeff, accidental headbutt, got the cut.
You good? Hang on, you ready?
-I'm sorry, buddy. -[Crawford] No, we're good, we're good.
[Jon] There was always the chance of this.
Southpaw-orthodox, a clash of heads,
although it's Canelo who's been cut three times in the past.
But it's Crawford with the injury.
[Max] And the ever classy Álvarez comes over and immediately apologizes.
[Andre] Terence Crawford is punching with bad intentions right now.
And so is Canelo Álvarez.
[Max] Yeah, these guys are looking for the knockout in this round.
They both are.
[Jon] You had to know this was gonna happen at some point.
You caught it, Dre.
Right through the guard for Álvarez with the right hand.
That's a good right hand for Álvarez, or so it appeared.
[Max] Good left hand from Álvarez.
Bud Crawford is someone who is--
took gunshots in the head and drove himself
-to the hospital to get stitched up… -[Andre] …Canelo Álvarez.
-…as a young professional. -[Andre] Ooh, good shot.
[Max] A little blood isn't gonna spook him.
[Andre] Those may not be knockout shots from Terence Crawford,
but those are respect shots from Terence Crawford.
He's demanding his respect right now.
[Max] Sweat flying shots.
[crowd cheering]
[Jon] Neither of these men have ever officially been knocked down
as pros under a minute in round nine.
[Max] With…
not much more than 30 seconds left to go in the ninth round.
So far, Bud Crawford has done what he has done
in every fight of his career,
which is demonstrate-- however you have the exact scoring
on the cards right now, he has been the better man so far,
as he's always been throughout his career.
Canelo's gonna have to do something.
[Jon] That right hand will help the Álvarez cause.
Under 20 seconds to go, round nine.
[Max] Crawford looking outstanding with the extra weight,
competing at 68 for the first time tonight.
-[bell ringing] -[Max] Three to go.
[hip-hop music playing]
[Andre] This is a moment where Terence Crawford stood his ground
and got his respect from Canelo Álvarez.
That's the range that everybody said he can't fight in.
Everybody said that he has to fight the perfect fight,
and he can't allow Canelo Álvarez to touch his chin at all.
He's been hit, he's took it well, and he's given just as much,
and in many cases, more than what he's taken in certain spots.
[interpreter] "You have to move your hips
because you have to get out and come back again."
"You know how to defend yourself."
"You need to get that guard up."
"Listen, we have three rounds to do this, to blow him up, all right?"
"Listen, you have to strike him really, really hard."
Move…
-[Andre] You hear that? -[whistle blows]
[trainer] I don't think you hear--
Hey, you gotta finish strong.
-You got nine minutes. -[bell ringing]
[Max] You hear the corners. Eddy Reynoso
wants something big from Canelo here.
He says you have three rounds to do this.
Crawford's corner believes he's up, but knows he needs to finish strong.
[Jon] Álvarez' corner looking for that power.
Also some movement defensively as well.
Round ten.
[Andre] One of the questions I had was, how was Terence Crawford gonna move
and carry and fight with this extra weight?
And thus far, he looks phenomenal.
The shape that he's in and his ability to carry that weight,
-good right hand from Canelo Álvarez. -[Jon] Yeah, it was.
[Max] Canelo-- you add a couple shots like that,
and this whole thing can change quickly.
Canelo remains dangerous
and is being implored by his corner to pour it on him.
[Jon] Good sequence there by Crawford.
Nice left hand by Álvarez, immediately answered by Bud.
[Max] Good right hand from Canelo.
[Andre] Crawford said, "That's all you got?"
Crawford able to block that right hand.
[Max] If I'm Canelo's corner, I really don't like what I just saw
from Crawford, the little pity pat,
because it means he's feeling very comfortable.
[Andre] The right hand is a shot that Crawford gets hit with a lot
along the ropes and moving backwards.
Been the money shot for Canelo thus far in this fight.
[Max] Yeah, he just landed it again as you said that.
[Andre] Looked like he threw that right hand
where he thought Bud was going to be,
and he landed flush.
Not sure why he's not making that adjustment.
[Jon] Canelo would be served well to punch with Crawford
when Crawford goes into those three punch combinations.
[Max] Good body shot.
Single shot. I'd like to see Canelo throw multiple body shots.
Single shot from Crawford.
I don't know if Canelo just doesn't want to open up that much,
or if he doesn't feel comfortable
in that space throwing both hands
because he'll have Crawford trapped and he'll just throw one body shot.
[Jon] A round like this is where Crawford can make a statement.
Last 35 seconds or so, Canelo's done some good work.
Can Crawford take the play away from him?
Or can Canelo emphasize an effective round so far?
And there's Crawford taking that play away.
[Andre] See, Crawford holding up really well physically
in these clinch situations.
Álvarez presses forward.
-Crawford not there to be hit. -Stop. Straight back.
[Andre] Did that exchange win Crawford the round?
That's a great question.
All right, guys, listen for the bell.
[bell ringing]
[Andre] This is the punch that Crawford has been getting hit with all night.
He's taking it well,
but that's not a punch you want to really give any fighter,
especially Canelo Álvarez.
And Canelo's also extended the straight right hand.
That has landed flush, very clean.
And we've seen Crawford start to do the flurries,
where he's throwing punches at half speed and half strength
in order to get a big shot at the end of the combination.
And that's the sequence that you don't like, Max.
[Michael] Ladies and gentlemen…
[interpreter] "You have to be strong, strong, strong."
"Don't let him dance around…"
[Jon] We're happy to announce a new attendance record
for Allegiant Stadium,
70,482 fans in the building.
-[bell ringing] -This venue proving great for boxing.
Beautiful! Body shot by Álvarez to begin round 11.
[Andre] Oh, good uppercut on the inside from Crawford.
Both of these guys have that thing that great champions have,
where when one tries to take the play away from the other,
there's an immediate response.
[Max] You can't teach it, you can't coach it, you can't train that.
You either have it or you don't.
[Andre] So far throughout the fight,
Skipper Kelp's card reflects what we've been seeing.
It's not that Canelo hasn't responded,
it's that Crawford's responses have been a little better.
[Jon] Skipper Kelp, go ahead.
[Skipper] I just think that Crawford is answering the bell.
Whenever Canelo does something, Crawford one-ups him.
[Jon] And again, a nice short left hand by Crawford
after he had landed an uppercut prior.
[Andre] I thought I saw Canelo wobble a little bit
from one of those uppercuts on the inside.
[Jon] Ooh!
That's the negotiation that I talked about earlier
that Crawford has to continue to make with himself.
He won that negotiation right there.
[Max] Can't get too comfortable, though.
You can see he's feeling very comfortable on offense,
and Canelo is still throwing bombs.
Crawford, I don't think, at this point, believes Canelo can hurt him.
[Andre] I believe that to be true.
[Max] Time will tell.
Those two look like it hurt.
This is Canelo's best moment of the fight.
Can he follow up?
[Andre] Still a lot of round left.
A minute and 30 seconds in this 11th round.
[Max] Pinpoint jab from Crawford a moment ago.
Ooh. Right hand for Álvarez gets through.
[Jon] Yep. Left hook from Crawford gets through as well.
[Max] It's true, but Crawford may be getting a little too comfortable
getting hit with some big clean shots,
though he's done most of the hitting this round.
[Jon] Nice combination by Crawford. The body work got through.
[Max] By the way, I know Crawford's the smaller guy moving up,
so we're like, let's look at his punch resistance.
Canelo Álvarez is in the conversation
for the greatest chin in the history of boxing.
He's taken some big shots tonight.
[crowd cheering]
[Max] Álvarez with a late left hand in round 11.
-[bell ringing] -[Max] Three minutes to go.
[hip-hop music playing]
Hey, listen.
Hey, you're gonna get desperate this last round.
You're gonna try to come, too.
Gentlemen, last round,
we're gonna touch gloves at the bell, at the bell.
But you box smart, okay?
You got great foot movement.
Sometimes, hit the feint with a two-one or a one-two.
You're boxing great.
Keep touching him off the double, okay?
You can't do shit off that double.
[interpreter] "Keep close, very tight."
Just take a bit. Just go for it.
Let's get some air.
Get some air.
All the power you got, you have to move your hips.
Very close and tight.
One low, one high. Very close and just go.
[Michael speaking indistinctly]
[bell ringing]
Gloves up. Gentlemen, we got a great fight.
Keep it clean. Go.
[Jon] All right, so we do have the same set of judges
that did judge that Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao fight
that ended in a 12-round majority draw back in July.
Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld had it, 114-114.
Max DeLuca, 115-113 for Barrios.
We'll see if we get to the cards tonight.
[Andre] Steve Weisfeld is as good a judge as I've ever observed
throughout my years in boxing.
I believe, guys, either Canelo Álvarez does something dramatic here,
or Bud Crawford becomes the first ever Lightweight Champion.
real champion, ring magazine, lineal, whatever you want to call it,
to become Super Middleweight Champion
and also conquer other divisions along the way.
[Jon] I agree with that man.
[Max] You have to feel that it's discouraging for Canelo
to land those kind of shots throughout the course of this fight
and not get the reaction that most thought he was gonna get,
probably he thought he was gonna get.
[Jon] This has been a masterful performance
from Terence Crawford.
[Max] And adding to it, with that left hand.
I mean, do you think Crawford gets greedy here, Dre?
And would that be a mistake?
[Andre] I don't know if it's greedy.
I think he's earned the right based on setting the table
the way that he has to eat right now.
It's the 12th round.
We don't know how this fight is being scored.
He's not a civilian.
He's a prizefighter, and this is what prizefighters do.
[Max] Billy Conn,
in 1941, had Joe Louis beat for the heavyweight title,
went for a knockout in the 13th round
and was counted out himself with one second to go.
[Jon] Right hand gets through for Álvarez.
Crawford seemingly having a hard time holding back the smile.
One minute to go!
[Jon] Still trying to land something big before it's over,
but Crawford won't allow it.
[Max] He's knocking Canelo off balance with those upper shots,
the uppercuts.
But is he hurting him with them, do you think, Andre?
[Andre] I think he's getting his respect. That's what I think.
Enough to do what he's doing right now.
[Max] Right. Canelo's walking away, and…
[Andre] That's all you need to see right there.
He's getting the respect that he wanted.
Canelo's going to fight. He's a warrior.
He's a champion. A great, proud champion.
But Crawford…
got what he wanted, which was his respect.
Well, he felt like if he could get this fight,
he could produce a performance that would earn the respect.
Down the stretch we come!
[bell dings]
[Jon] And there's the final horn!
Terence "Bud" Crawford
and Canelo Álvarez go the distance.
[Max] Guys, we know what we just saw.
Bud Crawford just beat Canelo Álvarez.
Let's see if the judges agree.
[Jon] And when Bud Crawford heard the superlatives all week
about how powerful or big Canelo Álvarez was,
he and Brian McIntyre responded in kind every time.
"He ain't fought us yet," and indeed he had not.
And Bud Crawford, who turns 38 later this month,
looked in prime form tonight against Canelo Álvarez.
Official decision on the other side as we roll onward from Vegas.
[music concludes]
[indistinct chatter]
[Jon] Back inside Allegiant Stadium, Terence Crawford
and Canelo Álvarez go the distance.
Most of Bud Crawford's boxing contemporaries
picked him to win this fight.
They felt as though he had more ways to win.
Certainly, from our vantage point, he did enough to move to 42-0.
And assert himself undeniably as one of the greatest of all time.
You did that shit, Bud!
[Jon] And now we await the official score, folks.
But now, for the official decision,
one final time tonight, here is Michael Buffer.
[bell rings]
[Michael] Ladies and gentlemen, after twelve rounds of boxing,
we go to the scorecards.
Steve Weisfeld scores at 116-112.
Max DeLuca and Tim Cheatham both have it
115-113
to the winner by unanimous decision.
the Fighting Pride of Omaha, Nebraska, USA…
-[all cheering] -…and new Ring Magazine
and Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion
of the world…
Terence…
Bud…
Crawford!
-[cheering] -[indistinct chatter]
You done won. Put you hands up to it.
What? That's right. That's right.
That's right. You ain't got nothing to see, man. Hey.
[team member] Oh, no. It's the room.
Let's go, Bud!
I ain't touching him.
I'm with my guy. We're champion of the world tonight.
Let's go!
Let's go. Break that ceiling.
Great job, Bud. Great job, Saúl.
Great job, Ray.
Great job, Doug.
That's right. You're the best.
The best!
The best. Ring Magazine!
The people's champ!
-[indistinct conversations] -Come on, Ray!
Where you going? Where you going--
-I'm good. -All right. I'mma hold you to that.
[overlapping chatter]
Give him some fucking room, yo. Damn.
[Max] Bud…
Congratulations on a truly historical win.
What are you feeling right now?
-All praise to the Lord above me. -[team member] That's right.
I gotta give Him all the praise, 'cause without Him, I wouldn't be here.
And I told y'all, I'm not here just by any coincidence.
God blessed me, and He made this event,
He made this night just for me, and I've been telling y'all that.
It's not my performance, it's God's.
You seemed to be outboxing him early,
but the rounds were competitive through four.
Then in the fifth, he started picking up momentum
and he started to hit you cleanly.
And it seems like you came out in the sixth intentionally
to reassert yourself and stop his momentum.
Is that accurate?
Yeah, of course, man. Canelo's a great champion.
You know, I got to take my hat off to him.
He's a strong competitor.
You know, like I said before, I got nothing but respect for Canelo.
I'm a big fan of Canelo.
And he fought like a champion today.
I can't remember another fighter whose legacy hinged so much,
this deep into their career, on one night.
Had you lost, people would have said,
"Well, first time he fought a great fighter, he couldn't do it."
But…
You won.
And now, at this moment, if you never fight again,
this generation will say about you what the last one said about Floyd
and what generations ago they said about Sugar Ray Robinson.
They'll say, "No one could have beaten our guy."
Is this the last fight of your career?
Like I said before, I don't know.
I got to sit down with my team and we're going to talk about it.
But do you have anything else you'd like to say
to boxing fans around the world?
I'd just like to say thank you.
Thank you to all the supporters.
Thank you to all the haters.
I appreciate every one of y'all.
We made this a great event.
Shout out to everybody that came to support Canelo.
I appreciate all y'all coming to support me and this fella.
I'm-- I'm happy that he get to make it home to his children.
I get to make it home to my children.
And you know what I mean? Hopefully everybody be safe tonight.
Thank you, GOAT, because you are the GOAT of this era.
Terence "Bud" Crawford.
-[crowd cheering] -[indistinct chatter]
Canelo, as you have done your entire career,
you took a huge risk tonight and then fought your heart out.
What are you feeling right now?
I feel great.
You know…
[speaking in Spanish]
First and foremost, I want to thank everyone that came to support me.
It has always been behind me.
I'm a winner for being here.
There's no defeat here.
The fact that I'm here makes me already a winner.
I've done everything in my career--
I've come to life to actually take risks.
And that's what I did. I take risks.
And when the money fighter of an era is willing to fight everyone,
you get a great era in boxing.
Is Bud Crawford someone that you want to fight again?
Do you feel like you could do better in a rematch than you did tonight?
Like I said to him,
I… I feel great to share the ring with…with great fighters like him.
And if we do it again, it's going to be great.
But you know what?
I'm glad to share the ring with great fighters,
and I'm glad to be here.
I… I already did a lot in boxing.
I already accomplished a lot in boxing.
My legacy is already there,
and I am still taking risks because I love boxing.
[crowd cheering]
If you continue,
do you feel like this is still the Canelo Álvarez
that we've all known and loved for all these years?
Or do you feel like something's changed?
Are you still the fighter that you were?
No, I feel great. I feel great. I feel strong.
You know, Crawford is a great fighter, skilled fighter.
And I give the credit to Crawford, obviously.
And I feel great. I still feel the same.
Canelo Álvarez, the reason it's been such a pleasure
to have you as the face of boxing is because of that.
In victory and defeat,
Canelo Álvarez is everything that's good about boxing.
-Thank you, Canelo. -My pleasure. Thank you.
-¡Que viva México, cabrones! ¡Ánimo! -[crowd cheering]
[Jon] The living legend Canelo Álvarez, for whom,
as Andre Ward says, "boxing is life."
And it seems as though boxing is still life for him.
He does say he wants to retire at 37 to play golf
because he is very good on a golf track.
But tonight belongs to Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Andre, you had a front row seat to one of the biggest singular wins
in the illustrious history of the sport of boxing.
[Andre] Before I get to Terence Crawford,
I first want to take my hat off to Canelo Álvarez
to Max's point in the post-fight interview.
He didn't have to take this fight.
This is the fight that Terence Crawford called for,
so hats off to him for that.
As it pertains to this man right here,
it's well publicized that he's a friend of mine,
and I've seen his journey throughout his career,
and I've seen one accomplishment after the next.
I've seen more questions be asked of him.
"Is he a draw?"
"Does he have a personality?"
"He's only fighting these types of fighters."
"He doesn't have a signature win.'
And all he's done was just answer the doubt with more victories,
more professionalism,
And I think we can learn something from Crawford,
not just the X's and O's.
We have to stop putting fighters in a box
thinking "You're only entertaining if you do this."
'You can only excite me if you fight this type of way."
Terence Crawford truly did it his way.
And a lot of people were wrong.
And if this is his last fight,
he's done everything that he wanted to do.
He's a three-time undisputed champion
who jumped two, maybe three weight classes,
depending on how you look at it,
against a great fighter like Canelo Álvarez.
At this point in his life and career, the debate is over.
[Max] Every era has their guy
that you can't tell anyone from that era anything about.
We lived through Michael Jordan.
Try telling anyone who did that that LeBron James is better.
And those who lived through LeBron James,
there'll be another guy come around in twenty years
and try to tell them that.
Bud Crawford is that to this era of boxing.
And I want to go back and re-evaluate
the last ten, twelve years of boxing.
Because I think of Bernard Hopkins at Middleweight,
who made all those title defenses
but was locked out of the big fights.
Couldn't unify the titles.
As soon as he was given the chance, and by the way,
became Ring Magazine champion.
What that really showed is, retroactively, he was always the best.
He just didn't have the opportunity to prove it.
Looking back at Bud Crawford's career,
it is reasonable to say and I believe it…
He has been the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing now
for a dozen years.
Almost no one who has ever lived has ever done that.
It puts him in rarefied air.
The only man in the world who I won't argue about Michael Jordan
and LeBron James with is Terence Crawford.
We actually got into it in the fighter meeting,
but this was a celebration of boxing tonight, gentlemen,
in more ways than one.
You guys have devoted so much
of your professional lives to this sport.
You can look at me if you want to. It's okay. Dre.
Final thoughts on everything that transpired, not just tonight,
but this entire fight week
that really put boxing back where it belongs.
Great fight week, great buildup over the last two, three months.
Everything was done at a high level.
Um…
When you have two great fighters like we had in our main event,
you don't have to oversell anything.
This-- This event didn't feel oversold.
In fact, some people said, "Man,
shouldn't they be doing more with a fight of this caliber?"
And I think when you have the goods in the main event--
And we also saw,
on the undercard, a lot of great fights.
Young fighters. Established fighters.
This is what the future holds for boxing, with Turki Alalshikh.
And I believe Dana White and others,
who are throwing their hat
into the boxing ring…
I hope the fans enjoyed it.
but I think that we can take a page from the UFC book.
In boxing, wins mean a lot,
but losses probably mean more than they should.
And I love that about the Mexican fans
because they're still supporting their guy.
I've seen so many times guys get on the front end,
they get the support, but then they lose, and all of a sudden
people start acting different or they're not cheering the same.
It's not the case with these fans,
and I think we can take that with us from this night,
give both guys their respect. They took the risk, and…
just a loss doesn't mean the end and loss doesn't mean
that your legacy is tainted forever.
We pitched a big tent here.
This is going to be the most watched
boxing match, championship boxing match in 47 years
because of the platform it's on.
And what Andre spoke about earlier,
for the casuals, as they say, we welcome you
where we want this sport to grow, everybody involved in this.
And what Andre was referring to
is what I've been talking about all week, including on this broadcast.
The hope is that this event would be historic.
It turned out to be one of the best versions
of what it could be, a truly historic night.
And the hope was that this could kick off a golden era of boxing.
Andre referred to Turki Alalshikh, who has…
the resources to make these kind of events happen,
and the imagination.
It was he who imagined that this fight could happen.
-Yeah. -Dana White is an institution builder.
He built the UFC as an institution.
When he's gone, you can get a very competent executive
to run it, and it's still there. That's not the case.
Hasn't been the case so far in the history of boxing.
And Nick Khan, who runs the WWE,
is the most effective executive I've ever come across.
And this platform of Netflix can pitch the biggest tent possible.
So to take you inside baseball, or in this case, inside boxing,
that's what Andre was talking about.
This is the way to start a new era of boxing, a truly historical night.
Gentlemen, great job. There's no greatness,
of course, without risk.
We had two legendary athletes who didn't need to take this risk tonight,
put legacies on the line for our benefit.
All right, that's it from the booth for Andre and Max.
Jon Anik signing off. We now send it over across Allegiant Stadium.
Mario Lopez for the Post-Fight Show.
[rock music playing]
[Mario] Thank you very much, Jon. You know, Antonio,
we talked about this on my podcast,
The 3 Knockdown Rule, with Steve Kim.
Were the signs there in May when Canelo fought?
Was the skull fight
-some foreshadowing? -[music concludes]
He's had nearly 70 fights.
Did he finally, quote, "get a little old tonight?"
All I know is that Terence Crawford is something special,
and he's the consummate pro in that he can overcome inactivity.
And he can wear that weight well.
And he-- The moment was not too big for him.
Well, that skull fight definitely gave us an indication.
I wanted to see, could Canelo get back to where he was when he fought Plant?
I felt that that Canelo could have beat anyone.
But those last three outings, we had to put it under the microscope.
And I said, if he didn't come out aggressive,
if he allowed Terence Crawford to get into his groove, into his rhythm,
it was going to be the matador and the bull all night.
And I think that's the style of fight that we saw.
Is Canelo, can Canelo come back and be, you know, the champion that he was?
We don't know. I know there's still a lot of great fights out there.
You know, but this was one to remember.
I'm so happy for Crawford. He did what he said he was going to do.
He fought strategically all night
-and stayed focused. -Brilliant.
-Because one relapse,
he could have been knocked out easily by Canelo and his power.
Painted a masterpiece tonight, Mark.
Hey, I'll tell you what. It wasn't the skull fight.
He saw something going back several fights.
The audacity, the tell was in the ask.
He's been asking for this fight.
Terence Crawford has for two years now behind the scenes.
He finally got it.
He's as good as he imagined himself to be. He's as good as he believed himself to be.
He's-- This was a rebuke to promoters who didn't promote him adequately,
to promoters who didn't furnish him with worthy opponents.
This is for guys who didn't want to fight him,
for guys who doubted him.
This was a very explicit rebuke across the whole distance
of his career going back to Omaha. Where are you from? Omaha? They box there?
This was for everybody starting there and he's used that chip
on his shoulder, and now, this is the crowning moment,
and it comes at the end. I mean, whether it's his last fight or not,
he's basically 38 years old,
and he has not just made boxing history, but he's defied it.
He wasn't the A side, he was the B side,
and you could tell by the 115-113 score.
Okay? He was the older fighter, he was the naturally smaller fighter.
So what he did tonight, not just making history, he defied it.
And everyone talked about the Madrimov fight.
It wasn't the Madrimov fight.
As he told me the other night, Madrimov had its own rhythm.
I'm gonna come out, I'm going to bank rounds,
I'm going to win them decisively. It's exactly what he did.
And one thing he made very, very clear, post Manny Pacquiao,
Bud is now the guy. The guy.
Manny Pacquiao, by the way, another guy who somehow never fought him.
That's in his-- I remember the first time we sat down
-in 2018. -Yes.
You think I'll get-- You think I can get the Pacquiao fight?
-No, I don't think you will. I don't. -Yeah.
Welcome everyone to Canelo versus Crawford live
on Netflix. Let's take a look at some highlights right now.
[rock music playing]
[Mario] Antonio, take us through some of the highlights here in this fight.
[Antonio] Both guys exchanging right there.
Good shot by Canelo to the body.
But it was Terence Crawford.
It seemed like he was playing chess all night.
Staying one or two steps ahead of Canelo.
Landing combination punches.
I wanted to see Canelo take a little power off and use his speed.
It's just like he didn't diversify his attack at all.
And Crawford's too smart.
You know what I'm saying? So when he got out front, he cruised.
He knew how to stay ahead.
He did not allow
-Canelo to get back in the fight. -[Mario] Had him running into punches.
And Mark, there was no fluidity in Canelo's punches.
He seemed to be loading up. There was an answer. There was a jab.
-I was waiting for the combinations. -[Mark] It was the same Canel--
Mario, to me, it was the same Canelo we've been seeing
for the last four, five, six times.
You know, he's really good.
You'll see it right here. Well, the left to the body,
but it's basically one punch at a time.
There's no variation in the strength of it. Everything is hard.
I understand that maybe it's to help him with the fakes,
but everything is hard, and he's plodding.
And when he misses, he misses big.
And what I saw toward the end of the fight,
the back half of the fight, when he missed…
-[music concludes] -…and sometimes when
Crawford popped him with a jab,
and remember, Crawford's longer than Dmitry Bivol,
and he used that to great effect tonight.
I saw a great champion in Canelo Álvarez who had become discouraged.
Incredibly discouraged, but then you said you've seen this
in the last few years, and I go back to, he's almost had 70 fights.
There's a lot of tread on those tires. Not to discredit anything from Crawford,
-because he fought a brilliant fight. -It's one of the things
that Crawford told me on Wednesday.
I asked him, "Listen, he's fought 520 rounds,
you've fought, I think, 245."
"He's younger, okay. He fights more regularly, great."
Crawford says, "As a boxer, he's older in boxing years than I am."
-"He's been fighting--" -Made a great point.
And this is-- I admire him greatly.
He's been fighting as a pro since he was 15.
-Mm-hmm. -You know?
The most important thing, an impressive thing that I saw tonight,
and I want people to really understand what Crawford did.
He moved up two weight classes.
He was stronger than the undisputed champion it seemed.
That is a rarity.
I think he was the only guy in the world that could have
did that with his skill set.
You're not going to find too many fighters jumping up
and being successful like that.
We were talking about, in those clinches, he was able to move him around.
It seemed like that wrestling really got in.
He did look like the stronger fighter.
By the way, it's really, if you look at it in practical terms,
it's basically a three-weight class.
-His one-- one fight-- -[Mario] One pit stop
at 134, you're right.
But I think that he knew exactly what he was doing. I mean, he--
He asked for Canelo well before last year.
You know, that-- It was on his mind. He had been studying him.
He's been going to Canelo fights since Cotto in 2015.
Now, at that time, it didn't seem likely to him.
But by the time-- by the time of the Charlo fight,
what he was seeing, he told me this the other day,
he was seeing guys who were happy to get paid
and their victory was not just signing the contract,
but in going the 12-round distance. That was-- That was their victory.
Okay? That was not what Terence Crawford expected of himself.
No, he came to win, and win he did. Let's take a look at some stats right now.
[dramatic music playing]
[Mario] Punches attempted, 442
for Terence Crawford, so the much busier fighter tonight.
Hundred and twenty-nine landed to the head.
Canelo landing 76 punches.
Seventy-one body shots landed.
Only 40 for Crawford, but he was the busier guy overall, Antonio,
and he never let the momentum get carried away with Canelo.
He always stopped that. He always adjusted.
-He's brilliant at adjusting. -[music concludes]
And we saw the same Terence Crawford just do it to a bigger body tonight.
Definitely. And you know what? He carried that weight. He was in so--
He was in such tremendous shape. I wanted him to get a rep.
I thought he needed a fight before this,
but Terence Crawford has been training for this fight for a year, bro.
He's been in training camp. He put that muscle on right.
He came in right. He didn't look bloated.
And I think that condition that he was in,
he was able to move around the ring successfully,
consistently for 12 rounds.
That was some conditioning. It was very impressive.
So there's one thing looking good on the scales, it's another thing
carrying your weight effectively, and he did that.
But you know something?
Terence Crawford knew himself a lot better
than most of the boxing experts.
No, you can't do this, you can't do that. Yes, I can.
And again, it's a microcosm of where he's been his entire career.
Yes, I can. And, in fact, he did.
He really did, and in the fact that
he went out there, he did what he said he was going to do.
-He was able to withstand the punches. -[rock music playing]
He took a couple shots. The chin really held up.
That's what was very, very impressive. Think about this.
[Mark] Have you ever seen Terence Crawford really hurt?
I mean, you had two of the greatest chins of all time out there tonight.
But, you know, Crawford is naturally a spindly guy.
He transformed his body.
But it's extraordinary to think that a guy who's been fighting this long,
you've never really seen him hurt.
I know there was an exchange in Gamboa,
and there's some discussion about Havlowskis.
But I mean, I've been watching him in big fights,
and I've never seen the guy really hurt.
[Mario] No, not only really, you never really seen him in trouble.
You don't see him-- Oh, wow, look at that.
[Antonio] That's that mental, that's that mental stability,
that mental strength.
And that dog in him, man, he's definitely a killer.
Uh, I can't wait to see him in the ring again.
Just imagine some of the names that he can be with, connect with. [chuckles]
[Mario] Well, do we see him in the ring again?
I mean, he climbed the highest mountain.
-He's achieved the financial-- -[Antonio] Okay.
Well, is defeating Canelo makes him the guy now?
Is he the money man?
Can he get paid like Canelo now that he's three-time undisputed champion?
-[Mark] I guess we'll have to find out. -Yeah, yeah.
I'm not sure that's what it's about.
I hope he makes all the money he could possibly make.
I think what it was really about was revising the last decade or so,
reassessing who he was, where he's been,
the opportunities he got, and the opportunities he didn't.
This was inputting all the chips on the Canelo, you know, Canelo's number.
Three-time Undisputed Champion never has it been done in the history.
And I believe he's-- can be arguably
considered the best fighter we've ever seen man.
Pound for pound, a GOAT.
An argument can't be made, you're right. He's the only fighter
to go from lightweight undisputed all the way to super middleweight
which is so incredibly impressive and really at the age of 38,
-because he's two weeks away-- -[Mark] But you're also--
The funny thing is that-- A peculiar thing is that to navigate that in this age
of the four belt era, where you need-- The politics are treacherous,
the circumstances can be treacherous.
You see all sorts of stuff can happen. Opponents fall out.
But to be undisputed four belts in three divisions
and also such a spread.
I mean, you know.
-Forty to 68, that's not normal. -No, it's not normal at all.
And that's what's got to make the legacy so incredibly special now, Antonio.
In order to do that, you have to have a lot of patience.
Because a lot of times in this sport, things don't always go your way.
You get put on the back burner. You don't get the fights you need.
You got to stay patient.
And you gotta believe in what and who you are.
One other thing about that, it's not just patience.
And I think this is-- It's the greatest talent in everything,
but especially in boxing.
It's the ability to remain undiscouraged and he's had a lot of lapses,
a lot of inactivity, promotional problems, all the rest.
-And that could have broke average-- -It could have broken a lot of guys.
-I've seen that happen in the sport a lot. -Says a lot about his mental toughness
as well as his physical toughness and what a disciplined individual--
He deserves all the credit in the world tonight.
Thank you gentlemen. Listen, when we come back,
Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr.
squared off in the co-main event. Full highlights after the break.
This is Canelo versus Crawford live on Netflix.
[exciting music playing]
[music concludes]
[Michael] To the winner, by unanimous decision,
the fighting pride of Omaha, Nebraska, USA,
and new Ring Magazine and undisputed
super middleweight champion
of the world, Terence…
Bud…
Crawford!
[indistinct chatter]
Welcome back, Ring Magazine Senior Insider, Mike Coppinger
joining us here at the desk.
Before we get into some other action,
we've got to get Mike's thoughts on the main event.
Mike, what a performance tonight.
Terence Crawford is incredible. He proved me wrong.
I knew he could box that way, Mario,
but what surprised me the most was the clean, hard shots Canelo landed.
And they never really seemed to affect Crawford.
I watched the fight from ringside,
and Crawford walked right through them.
So impressive, especially because of the inactivity.
It showed what a pro he is.
It looked like he didn't miss a step, like he's had camps
or he had two fights leading into this.
Look, Crawford's amazing. He's an all-time great.
It seems like inactivity doesn't affect him.
Size doesn't affect him.
I don't know who can beat him right now. And you have to say, right now,
Terence Crawford is the pound for pound king.
You know, this is like my favorite thing,
-telling Coppinger, I told you so. -[all laughing]
My favorite thing in life.
It really is. And again, all the more impressive,
almost 38 years old, Mark.
[all chuckling]
-Well, I told you so. -Hey, Mark knows I'm being old, so--
All right, let's get into our co-main event right now
between Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr.
Antonio, take us through the highlights right here.
[Antonio] Well…
Right there, a good stiff jab.
I think being a southpaw for both of these guys,
it took them a time to get adjusted to each other.
But this fight has some great moments in it.
That right hook by Walsh right there.
Fernando Vargas needed to get under those shots, but, man,
he put his heart on the line tonight.
Both of these young guys got a bright future.
But it's Callum Walsh that moves on.
And I believe this puts him in line for a title shot,
if I'm not mistaken.
[Mario] Yeah, it was a very competitive fight.
Close fight, but, yeah,
Callum Walsh ended up getting his hands raised and very--
And the championship rounds really, really came up big.
And listen, if you didn't know who Christian Mbilli
and Lester Martinez were when this fight started,
you certainly do now.
What a fight that fight turned out to be.
The WBC Super Middleweight Interim World Championship
was on the line, and this fight was worthy of a title mark.
I think it was the fight of the night except for the historic implications.
It was the action fight of the night.
Um, they both fought at a relentless level,
almost a frightening level,
the type of endurance each of these guys had.
You know when there's so much stock placed--
I think it's actually-- It's been to the great detriment of the game
and undefeated fighters keeping their oath.
Neither guy lost tonight.
I mean you give me Lester Martinez any night of the week.
I want to see him. I want to see him in a main event.
He distinguished himself.
M'billi, I think M'billi's a little square but he's so damn strong.
But, if you admire fortitude, if you admire the art of violence,
this was one hell of a fight.
[Mario] The entertainment value was off the charts,
and you're right, no one really lost tonight.
We both want to see,
everyone wants to see both of these guys fight again.
And I'll tell you what, Antonio.
A rematch, it seems like it's in the cards.
Yeah, I think a rematch would be in the cards,
but I want to see both of these guys get a little better
with their technique and their skill set.
I mean, because this doesn't really,
you know, it's not conducive for a long successful career.
[Mark] I thought Andre made a really interesting point
during the broadcast, which was that Lester had more success
when he could establish just a little bit more distance.
And, um, it really made a difference to him.
I'd like to see him work exactly on that.
Mike, would you say
that the super middleweight division is one of the deepest in boxing now?
Yeah, no question.
I mean, you saw what happened with Mbilli and Lester Martinez.
Those are two guys in their own rights who can become attractions,
especially Mbilli fighting out of Quebec.
We've seen how big that's been for boxing, right?
Lucien Boutte, Beterbiev. now, Sean Pascal.
And I thought the judges did a great job there.
It was a tough fight to score, great inside fighting.
And I wanna see that rematch ASAP.
Absolutely.
I mean, it really-- The division depends now.
There's one big decision at the head of the division.
What does Terence Crawford do?
My gut is…
He's gone. I don't know how you top--
He ain't made enough money yet to be gone, bro.
He ain't made enough money. He need a hundred.
-Oh, yes, he has. -He need a hundred million.
How much are you spending on Nebraska?
He need three fights, a hundred million.
With all due respect, you don't have to start a GoFundMe
for Terence Crawford. He's going to be all right.
My guy is leaving with all his marbles intact.
-Fishing ain't that expensive. -No, it's not that expensive.
In Nebraska, that money goes a long way.
-That's true, too. -But you're right.
Selfishly, I would love to see him continue.
He's healthy. He looks strong.
He looked better than ever. I guess it remains to be seen. We'll see.
And what if he can dance from 168 to 60? You feel me?
Now you got more options.
-Oh, we're talking like-- -Maybe you should go up to 75.
Right?
-Let's not get crazy. -But I mean-- Think about it.
Every fighter's career is a story. Okay?
It's difficult enough to walk away from this game
with your dignity and your money and your faculties intact.
This is a perfect ending.
I mean, there's something to be said for not tampering with it.
-My opinion. -No I agree.
Listen, we're trying to get Terence Crawford to come up
at the desk here soon.
I think he's enjoying all his belts and enjoying his monstrous victory.
That there he is.
He looks happier than ever and if you can imagine--
On cloud nine. Be back with the champ hopefully soon.
[dramatic music playing]
[exciting music playing]
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.
And we are back with the man of the hour, the champ, Terence "Bud" Crawford.
Congratulations. What a beautiful masterpiece tonight, champ.
-How you feeling? -I feel great.
You know what I mean? Like, anybody can be a nobody.
Like I said, a lot of people doubted me.
A lot of people said I haven't fought anybody.
I can't sell.
I don't have no personality.
They just wrote me off for years and years,
and it all came to a halt tonight.
And the moment never seemed too big for you.
You seemed to answer all of the questions, whether you could take
the punch, whether the pressure would be too much,
how the weight would feel. None of those seem to be factors tonight.
Not at all. Like I said before, you know, I've always sparred bigger guys.
I never sparred smaller guys because I was too strong for them.
I used to just bully them around.
So when I spar smaller guys,
it's normally for speed and work on my defense and things like that.
So, you know, fighting at a bigger weight and not having
to lose so much weight, you know, it helped me tonight.
Champ, I noticed,
congratulations anyway, I noticed that you didn't switch orthodox.
Was that a game plan of yours?
Yeah, you know, I wanted to come out orthodox,
but my coaches was just telling me,
you know, your southpaw is going to kill him.
You know, he's not going to get past the jab.
His feet are slow.
You know, keep turning them.
And that's what we did tonight.
[Antonio] And I was surprised that Canelo really didn't execute a jab.
You didn't have anything to worry about on that front hand.
He was trying to load up with the back hand.
And I thought that made your job a little easier.
[Crawford] Yeah, we knew what he was trying to do with the wide hooks.
I think he knew I was faster than he thought I was.
So if he threw a lot of jabs, I was going to counter him.
And I think he respected my power.
And in one of those rounds, I knew you came out aggressive.
You wanted to really draw the line in the sand.
And you started throwing some beautiful combinations.
Did you think the fight was even at that time,
or you felt like you had to separate yourself?
No, I felt like I had to separate myself. You know, uh…
I didn't wanna eat too soon.
So I was buying my time, and then when the time came,
I let my hands go.
-Beautiful, beautiful performance. -Thank you.
You told me a couple days ago, one of the crucial things
was to win bank rounds and bank them decisively.
But what I saw in the second half of the fight,
especially when he missed, and also some of the few clinches,
he seemed a little bit defeated.
Was there a moment where you thought to yourself, "He's mine, I got him?"
Yeah, I was looking at his body language and things like that.
And him trying to amp himself up, telling me,
"Come on Champ, let's go Champ, come on."
And I was like, I'm not gonna feed into him and give him the opportunity
to land a lucky shot.
So I just stuck to what was working.
How hard did he hit?
He didn't hit as hard as I thought he was.
You know, he's definitely technical, but, you know, I've been hit harder.
Look, I said earlier on the show,
it seems like inactivity doesn't affect you,
-weight doesn't affect you. -[laughing]
Who can beat you out there? Is there anybody?
I'm blessed. I'm blessed by God.
Like I always said, a lot of people, they didn't give me the credit.
A lot of people didn't believe in me.
And I told y'all, a lot of people gonna be going home disappointed and crying.
I want to go back on something.
-This was for all of that, right? -All of it.
-Promoters, guys who wouldn't fight you… -All of it.
…other promoters who wouldn't give you their fighters,
going back to Omaha. What's Omaha? What is that?
Omaha, Nebraska.
Shout out to Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
They believed in me from day one,
you know, and uh…
this wouldn't be possible without them.
So I just want to…
Yeah, but it started with your ask.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
But with my ask, and their belief.
They had to believe in me
to be able to go forth and put the money behind Canelo,
you know, contracts, and then him fighting me.
I spoke the other day with Paco Valcarcel,
former president of the WBO,
and he said, going back to 2023,
you had asked about Canelo.
When did this really first start?
Well, like I said, you know,
I couldn't get the… I couldn't get the Errol Spence fight.
So, you know, Bill Haney, he put it in my mind.
He was just like, "Forget Errol Spence, go for Canelo."
He was like, "You can beat him." He was like, "Go for Canelo."
And then I'm like, "Canelo, man, that dude 168."
-Right. -I didn't think nothing of it.
But then when I sit down and I start sizing him up,
I'm like, "Damn. Hey, Bill might be right."
-You know what I mean? -Apparently he was.
-So I'm like-- -Bill Haney, co-manager.
I'm looking at him and stuff, and I'm like…
-"Yeah, we about to go for Canelo." -[laughing]
"That's a bigger fight anyway."
So I went to Paco and I told him, I said,
"Hey, listen, I wanna fight Canelo."
And he was just like, "Ah, nah, Champ,
not yet Champ.
Have you a couple of more fights."
And I was like, "No, I'm serious."
And he was like, "Okay, I believe you."
-You said, "I'll beat him." -[Mario] Exactly.
But you said something else too, no?
How you'd beat him?
What?
Being myself.
That's it.
I don't got to try to, you know,
do anything that's not within my character.
Well, that's the thing, Champ, is a lot of guys prior to you
would just come and show up and get the paycheck.
And the win for them was just getting in the ring,
and they wouldn't necessarily try to win.
I said, "One thing we're going to see about Bud
is he's going to try to win," and win you did.
I think that the next question, of course, is, I mean,
you've reached the mountaintop,
clearly made yourself the best fighter of this era and generation.
We're talking conversation up here about, like, all-time greats.
But how do you feel about the future?
I mean, are you riding off into the sunset after something like this?
I mean, we're in a stadium, 70,000 people,
did the beautiful performance.
Or are we going to see more of Bud Crawford?
I know you said you want to think about it,
but what's your gut tell you at the moment?
My gut say the same thing.
You know, I'm going to sit down with my team.
And we're going to discuss what's next in the future for Terence Crawford.
And, you know, who knows? I might go down to 160.
-I already told him. -Okay, okay.
I already told him. I already told him it's your time, bro.
You deserve a hundred million.
So let him get his. You know what I'm saying?
There's a lot of fights out there that can be made
now that you're the king of the hill.
You can pick and choose like everybody else been picking and choosing,
but I know you're going to get the fans what they want,
real fights. You know what I'm saying?
Intriguing fights.
Fights like this, stadium-type fights,
if you still want to carry on with boxing.
You know, and I believe you're in a position right now to do that.
You're the man of the hour.
It's your era.
Everything, you feel me? You're the GOAT, bro.
-Thanks. -And I already called it.
Now, to the winner go to spoils.
Let's show off that ring.
-Dang. -Yeah.
Y'all see it, y'all see it.
That's a workout holding that up there, Bud.
That's a big ring, you know what I mean?
[Mario] That's a good birthday present coming up in a couple weeks, man.
How are we celebrating?
I don't know, you know, we're gonna see, you know.
We'll probably take a little trip.
You know, we might sit at home with the fam.
I don't know.
-[Mario] Love it. -Yeah, and look, Bud, for so long,
you were frozen out by all the best fighters of 47
Yeah, that's right.
And you weren't able to truly show your greatness.
And it just seems like every time you step up,
you raise your level, you beat the brakes off Errol Spence.
And to me, this was even more impressive.
I don't want to hear anyone take credit away from you.
Canelo Álvarez, to me, looked pretty good in there.
He brought his best, and you beat him.
Hey, listen, like I said before,
it's going to be excuses
behind every victory that I've done.
You know, uh…
That's what happens when you're great
and when you're so much ahead of the competition,
that they don't respect you. They think that you fight nobodies.
They think that the people that you're fighting,
you know, uh…
is not worthy enough.
You know, a lot of fans, they don't respect these fighters.
These fighters go in there, put their lives on the line and,
you know, put their heart and soul in the ring and display it.
And the way you beat him too, though, is you exchanged with him,
and you won those exchanges,
and you swept the Championship rounds to pull the fight out on the scorecards.
For sure. You got to win the Championship rounds,
you know, especially being that he was the Champion.
I knew going into the Championship rounds that I had to close out the show.
You know, you said something about what fighters go through,
and you've seen enough guys that the game is taken from.
It's a hard it's a hard game to get through.
Can you get a better ending…
than tonight? I mean, really…
Not at all, not at all.
This is the top of the top,
you know, uh…
Canelo is all time great, like I said before.
He's the last one.
He was the A side of the age.
There's no more Canelos, there's no more.
So when you look around, you say,
"I'm the Canelo, I'm the face of boxing now.
I'm the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,
like I always been.
You know, uh…
You just gotta wait and see.
[Mark] No, but what I'm saying is… A couple of things.
This fight is even less about the future
-than the past. -[Crawford] Right.
Cuz it's, "Hey, we got to re-figure that whole last decade of boxing."
But I don't know. This is not a game that has many perfect endings.
And tonight really was. I mean, God bless you.
Whatever you want--
Kriegel wants the bow at the end right there.
-You know what I like? -I feel you, Kriegel.
Bud, I like the Rolex with the "42-0." You put it on before.
[laughs]
-Interesting. -My man!
That's called manifestation.
That's manifestation right there, brother.
Who's holding on to that right now? Who's rocking that right now?
Uh, dang.
-One of the homies. -42-0.
[laughs]
They got the hats on.
You know, they in the room. But yes.
-Lot of Nebraska-- -I appreciate your time.
Thank you, Champ.
Again, beautiful, beautiful performance, Champ.
Congratulations on everything. Enjoy your time off,
and we look forward to the next steps, whatever they might be.
I appreciate y'all. Thank you.
-My man! -Okay, you got it, my man.
-Thank you, Champ. -Thanks.
-It's been a pleasure covering you. -Appreciate it.
-Congratulations. -Bud County!
[laughs]
-[Mario] Very happy and healthy. -[Antonio] Bud County.
[confident music playing]
[Mario] Oh, there we go.
Flash of the night with Vegas.
All the celebs were out.
Roy Jones.
Mbilli, Lester Martinez.
Beautiful fight.
What a night it has been for the entire production team,
for Antonio, Mike, and Mark, to Heidi and Jim,
to Jon, Max, and Andre ringside.
Thank you so much for watching the Zuffa Boxing Production.
I'm Mario Lopez. We can't wait to do it again down the road.
This has been Canelo versus Crawford, a special live event on Netflix.
Good night from Las Vegas, Nevada.
[music fades]