Terence Crawford had to wait until the 12th round, but he got his knockout of Jose Benavidez. Shakur Stevenson earned his most impressive win yet. And Andrew Tabiti advanced in the World Boxing Super Series.
But let?s go a little deeper, and let?s watch (or rewatch) some of the tape. Here?s everything you might have missed in boxing this weekend.
Terence Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs) TKO 12 over Jose Benavidez (27-1)
What I loved: Crawford?s accuracy with his power punching was impressive. Sure, it took him until the end of the fight for him to stop Benavidez, but Crawford was obviously breaking him down throughout the night. According to Compubox, Crawford landed 43.4 percent of his power shots, including 17 of 35 in the final round. If Crawford, who made a career-high $3.625 million purse, is that accurate against you, chances are you?ll be finishing the fight on your back or with the ref waving his arms above your prone body.
What I didn?t love: You hate to see a guy who flexes throughout the fight and tells the world that his opponent?s punches don?t have an effect him and then he gets completely separated from his senses by the fighter he?d been mocking throughout the fight. That was Benavidez?s night.
What it means: This is Crawford?s second-straight impressive performance as a welterweight, and he did it in front of more than 13,000 fans in Omaha. It?s unfortunate that so many of the top 147-pounders are with Premier Boxing Champions, including Manny Pacquiao it would appear, and likely won?t fight Crawford any time soon?the PBC and Top Rank, Crawford?s promoters, aren?t exactly on great terms.
Other notable fights:
Facing his most experienced opponent as a pro, Shakur Stevenson (9-0, 5 KOs), one of America?s best prospects, dominated Viorel Simion (21-3), knocking him down three times in the first round before the referee halted the fight just after the bell rang to close the round. Stevenson started the downfall of Simion, who had previously lost narrow decisions to world titlists Lee Selby and Scott Quigg, with a massive right hook that sent Simion to his knees. From there, Simion never fully recovered before the 21-year-old Stevenson ended it for good.
Andrew Tabiti (17-0, 13 KOs), who has become a known contender after beating former cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham and knocking out title challenger Lateef Kayode, scored another solid win, beating Ruslan Fayfer (23-1) in the quarterfinals of the cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series in Fayfer?s home country of Russia. The judges had it 116-111, 115-112, and 114-113 for Tabiti, who will have to face the winner of Yunier Dorticos vs. Mateusz Masternak in the semifinals.
