NEW YORK ? Terence “Bud” Crawford successfully defended his WBO welterweight title and status among the pound-for-pound best with a win over Amir Khan on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
The undefeated three-division champion from Omaha improved to 35-0 overall and 13-0 in world title fights by handing the challenger from England (33-5) his first welterweight loss.
The fight ended via technical knockout in the sixth round after Crawford landed an accidental low blow on Khan, and Khan’s trainer then decided Khan wouldn’t be able to continue. The fight was stopped and Crawford was named the winner.
The bout was the first televised by Top Rank, which promotes Crawford, via ESPN pay-per-view.
Crawford was making the second defense of the 147-pound belt he took from former champion Jeff Horn in Las Vegas last summer. He stopped Jose Benavidez Jr. last October in Omaha in his first defense.
Khan was the biggest-name opponent Top Rank could line up for Crawford. The British star is a former Olympic silver medalist and was once a unified world champ at 140 pounds.
Crawford seeks matchups with the other welterweight titleholders, stating his goal to become the undisputed champion at 147 as he did at 140. Those fighters, though, all compete on rival networks.
