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Crawford Not the First Lightweight to Distinguish Himself at Super Middleweight By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Wed, 17 Sep 2025  What made Terence Crawford’s capture of the undisputed super middleweight championship so extraordinary was that he accomplished it in his very first fight at 168 lbs, and only in his second bout above his natural fighting weight of 147 lbs. Of course, the manner in which he defeated the formerly undefeated super middleweight champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez made the victory even more special. The fight, held at a packed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, was one of the most highly anticipated title bouts in recent memory. Prior to this, Álvarez had not lost at 168 lbs in over a decade. Crawford is undoubtedly the first fighter to begin his career at lightweight—where he won his first world title—and eventually capture a world championship at super middleweight, and an undisputed title at that. He is, in fact, the first boxer in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed world titles in three weight divisions, counting his earlier triumphs at super lightweight and welterweight. However, for historical perspective, Terence “Bud” Crawford is not the first fighter to rise from the lower weight classes—lightweight or even below—and leave his mark at super middleweight, a relatively new division introduced in the late 1980s. Two distinguished fighters preceded Crawford in this ambitious ascent.  Roberto Durán: The Hands of Stone Carve a Path Upward Foremost among them was Roberto Durán, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. The Panamanian legend began his career as a featherweight, then moved up to junior lightweight, though he failed to secure a title at 130 lbs. It was in the lightweight division where Durán found his first crowning glory, winning the WBA title in 1972 by defeating Ken Buchanan, and later becoming the undisputed champion with a win over Esteban De Jesús for the WBC belt in 1978. As he aged and filled out naturally, Durán skipped junior welterweight and moved directly to welterweight, where he faced off with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980 in two legendary bouts. He won the first to claim the WBC welterweight title and lost the second in the infamous “No Más” fight, surrendering the crown mid-bout. Years later, Durán met Leonard again, this time at super middleweight, in a bout dubbed “Uno Más” (“One More”). Though past his prime, Durán still fought valiantly, losing a close unanimous decision in an unsuccessful attempt to win the WBC super middleweight title. In between, Durán won additional titles at super welterweight and middleweight, becoming one of boxing’s rare multi-division champions. Although many of his later-career losses—including the one to Leonard at 168 lbs—came at heavier weights, he left an indelible mark on the super middleweight division. His presence helped legitimize the fledgling weight class.  Vinny Pazienza: From Tragedy to Triumph Another former lightweight who eventually climbed to the super middleweight division was American boxer Vinny Pazienza, better known simply as Vinny Paz. Though not as globally revered as Durán, Paz's story is one of grit, resilience, and redemption. Ironically, Pazienza would defeat Durán twice at super middleweight in the mid-1990s, adding yet another layer to both of their legacies. Here is an excerpt from his career, quoted directly from Wikipedia: His first world title fight came on June 7, 1987, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he outpointed Greg Haugen over 15 rounds to become the IBF world lightweight champion. The pair would meet two more times: Haugen recovering the title in an immediate rematch, and Pazienza prevailing in a 10-round decision in their rubber match in 1990. Pazienza failed in title tries in the junior welterweight division: in 1988, against WBC World Champion Roger Mayweather and in 1990, against both WBO Champion Hector "Macho" Camacho and WBA World Champion Loreto Garza. In 1991, Pazienza moved into the junior middleweight division. This movement was at the advice of his new trainer Kevin Rooney. In his first fight at junior middleweight, he won the USBA championship against Ron Amundsen in a 12-round decision. He defeated the WBA world jr. middleweight champion Gilbert Delé with a 12th-round TKO in Providence, becoming the second fighter in boxing history to win both the lightweight and junior middleweight world championship. Pazienza was forced to relinquish the title due to a serious car accident in which his neck was broken. He was scheduled for a Jan.10 title defense against Pat Lawlor in Atlantic City but it was called off. Doctors informed him he might never walk again and would certainly never fight again. Pazienza had to wear a medical device called a Halo, a circular metal brace screwed into the skull in four spots and propped up with four metal rods. He had the Halo screwed to his skull for three months, during which time he maintained a workout regimen against doctors orders. He returned to the ring thirteen months after the accident and defeated future WBC world jr. middleweight champion Luis Santana by a 10-round decision. After the Santana fight, Pazienza went on to defeat Brett Lally by a 6th-round TKO, and then, in another TKO, former world champion Lloyd Honeyghan in the 10th round. Pazienza went on to win the vacant IBO middleweight world title in 1993 with an 11th-round KO over Dan Sherry. Pazienza then went on to beat Roberto Durán twice, both via unanimous decision, with the IBC super middleweight title on the line both times. In the first fight, Durán put Pazienza down in Rounds 2 and 5, but referee Joe Cortez controversially ruled the Round 2 knockdown to be a slip. The first fight divided the people watching as some felt that Durán had won a close fight, but others felt that Pazienza had won either narrowly or widely after finishing strongly in the last five rounds. The second fight was more lopsided in Pazienza's favour, as despite the official judges giving Pazienza the win by scores of 116–112, 117–111 and 118–110, the TV commentators expressed puzzlement at the closeness of the official scoring as they thought that Pazienza had won every round in a 120–108 shutout. In June 1995, Pazienza lost his world title bid against IBF world super middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr. In 1996, Pazienza inflicted then-prospect Dana Rosenblatt's only loss (a knockout in four rounds) to win the vacant WBU super middleweight world championship. Conclusion: Crawford Joins a Rare Pantheon While Crawford’s clean sweep of the super middleweight throne is unprecedented in the four-belt era, he joins a rare group of warriors who have risen from the lighter divisions to distinguish themselves among the big men. Unlike Durán or Pazienza, Crawford did not merely compete at 168 — he conquered it outright, unifying all the belts in his first try. Still, the road he walks was paved in part by those who climbed the mountain before him — legends who dared to challenge size with skill and heart. Crawford’s latest triumph doesn’t erase their achievements. Instead, it illuminates the lineage of lightweight fighters who’ve reached for greatness — and, in their own ways, grasped it. The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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