"If Terence "Bud" Crawford wants to make his case as the greatest non-heavyweight in the history of boxing, he gave himself a helluva Exhibit A late Saturday night in Vegas: Crawford took Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's soul while earning a unanimous decision win that gave him all of his title belts, too. Crawford remains undefeated and now holds the undisputed super middleweight championship, the only guy in the sport's so-called "four belt era" to have ever so dominated three separate weight classes."
"What remains as indisputable as Crawford's latest title: This was a big deal. Boxing doesn't have events that garner as much mainstream attention as this fight did anymore. And not just because of the Q rating of the combatants. The card was broadcast by Netflix, a streamer which announced in early 2025 that it had surpassed 300 million subscribers."
"Netflix hasn't yet disclosed how many folks actually watched. Max Kellerman, a fight calling veteran who was returning to ring work after an ESPN-imposed paid hiatus that lasted two years, said repeatedly that Crawford vs. Canelo would be "the most watched title fight in 47 years." He was referring to the September 15, 1978 rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks, which was broadcast on the ABC network to a primetime audience in the U.S. of over 90 million, most of whom used rabbit ears to get the free signal to their televisions."
Terence "Bud" Crawford defeated Saul "Canelo" Alvarez by unanimous decision in Las Vegas and claimed all of Canelo's title belts. Crawford remains undefeated and now holds the undisputed super middleweight championship, making him the only fighter in the four-belt era to dominate three separate weight classes. The bout drew unusually broad mainstream attention, airing on Netflix, which reported surpassing 300 million subscribers in early 2025. Observers noted widespread public conversation about the fight. Netflix has not disclosed official viewership numbers, and commentators suggested the match could be the most-watched title fight in decades.
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