> Terence Crawford Retires Undefeated at 42-0 After Beating Canelo to Become Three-Division Undisputed Champion

Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes to face Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on September 13, 2025 — and left with a unanimous decision, boxing’s undisputed super middleweight championship, and a place in history no fighter had reached before him: undisputed champion in three different divisions during the four-belt era.

He retired on the spot, unbeaten at 42-0.

How Crawford Won

The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 for Crawford. The numbers behind the decision tell a specific tactical story. Canelo actually landed more total punches with better raw accuracy — 99 of 338 (29.3%) to Crawford’s 115 of 534 (21.5%) — and out-landed Crawford in seven of the twelve rounds.

Crawford won anyway, because of what those numbers don’t capture: activity, defense, and control of range. He threw nearly 200 more punches than Canelo over the fight and never let the naturally bigger man find the single clean power shot he needed. Canelo landed 83 of 99 total connects as power punches — he was hunting for one fight-changing blow rather than building with combinations, a departure from the more technical Canelo of his prime. Crawford, by contrast, mixed in enough jabs (45 of 326 thrown) to keep Canelo on the outside and picked his spots with power punches at a 33.7% clip.

It was a fight won on volume, distance management, and never letting the come-forward puncher get comfortable — not on statistical dominance.

Three Divisions, Four Belts, One Era

Crawford’s path to this moment ran through two other undisputed reigns:

• 140 pounds (2017): Crawford knocked out Julius Indongo in the third round to unify the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO super lightweight titles — the first fighter to hold all four belts at 140 since Kostya Tszyu in 2004.
• 147 pounds (2023): Crawford dropped previously-undefeated Errol Spence Jr. three times en route to a ninth-round TKO, unifying the welterweight division and becoming the first male boxer of the four-belt era to go undisputed in two weight classes.
• 168 pounds (2025): The win over Canelo made it three.

No man had done it in three divisions before, in an era where four sanctioning bodies make undisputed status dramatically harder to reach than in boxing’s earlier decades.

Why Retire at the Top

Crawford’s decision to retire immediately, rather than chase a fourth division or a rematch clause, is consistent with a career built on picking fights he could control and leaving once the answer was clear. At 42-0 with wins across four weight classes (135 through 168), there was no bigger fight left to make that wouldn’t have simply repeated the same risk — moving up in weight against a naturally larger opponent — for a smaller historical upside than what he’d just accomplished.

Related Intel

• Bivol Wins Rematch, Becomes Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion — the light heavyweight division’s own undisputed rematch, decided the same year.
• Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson: 2026’s First Big Boxing Title Fight — the junior welterweight scene Crawford left behind on his way up in weight.