Terence Crawford: 42-0, and Out on His Own Terms
Boxing rarely lets its champions choose their own ending. Terence “Bud” Crawford did exactly that in December 2025, retiring undefeated at 38 with a 42-0 record, just three months after arguably the biggest win of his career. “I’m stepping away from competition, not because I’m done fighting, but because I’ve won a different kind of battle — the one where you walk away on your own terms,” he said in a video announcing the decision.
From Omaha’s amateur gyms to the professional ranks
Crawford was born on 28 September 1987 in Omaha, Nebraska, and began boxing at the C.W. Boxing Club there as a child, working his way through the national amateur circuit before turning professional. He’s fought as a southpaw throughout his career, trained by Brian McIntyre and Esau Dieguez since 2008, and has remained based in Omaha for the whole of his professional life.
Five weight divisions, one undefeated record
Crawford won his first world title at lightweight in March 2014, and went on to become a genuine five-division world champion across his career — lightweight, light-welterweight, welterweight, light-middleweight, and super-middleweight — winning every one of his 42 professional fights, 31 of them by knockout or stoppage, a 73% stoppage rate that reflects genuine punching power alongside his boxing skill.
The undisputed welterweight title, and “the Fight of the Century”
Crawford’s win over Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023, billed as the Fight of the Century, remains one of the defining results of his career. He dominated the previously unbeaten Spence, winning by ninth-round technical knockout to become the first undisputed welterweight champion since 2006 and the first male boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed status in two different weight divisions. He was ahead 79-70 on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, having out-landed Spence 185 punches to 96 overall.
Moving up in weight, and beating Canelo Alvarez
Rather than settling into a long welterweight reign, Crawford kept moving up in weight against increasingly difficult opposition. He won a close unanimous decision over Israil Madrimov in August 2024 to claim a world title at junior middleweight, his fourth weight division. Then, on 13 September 2025, in a fight billed as “Once In A Lifetime,” Crawford moved up two full weight classes to face Saul “Canelo” Álvarez — a fellow all-time great and four-division champion — for the undisputed super middleweight title at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Crawford won by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113), making him the first male fighter in the modern era to hold undisputed titles in three different weight divisions.
The retirement
Barely three months after that career-defining win over Álvarez, Crawford announced his retirement in a video posted to his YouTube channel in December 2025. “From Omaha to the biggest stages in boxing, every step of this journey was earned through sacrifice, discipline, and faith,” he wrote. “I faced the best, moved through weight classes, and made history on my own terms. 42-0. 3x Undisputed. Five division world champion. No shortcuts. No excuses. This isn’t goodbye to boxing… it’s a thank you.” He walks away widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world at the time of his retirement.
Where his legacy stands
Terence Crawford’s career resistance to easy comparison is part of what makes it so significant: a genuinely spotless 42-0 record, five weight divisions conquered, and undisputed status in three of them — a combination almost no fighter in the sport’s modern history can match. Choosing to retire undefeated, at the peak of his powers, immediately after the biggest win of his career, is itself a genuinely rare kind of discipline in a sport that often tempts its greatest champions to keep fighting well past their best.
Quick facts
Full name: Terence Allan Crawford | Born: 28 September 1987, Omaha, Nebraska | Record: 42-0 (31 KOs) | Notable: Undefeated five-division world champion, first male boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed titles in two divisions (2023) and three divisions (2025), beat Errol Spence Jr. and Canelo Álvarez, retired undefeated in December 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Has Terence Crawford retired from boxing?
Yes — he announced his retirement in December 2025 with a perfect 42-0 record, three months after beating Canelo Álvarez.
How many weight divisions did Terence Crawford win world titles in?
Five — lightweight, light-welterweight, welterweight, light-middleweight, and super-middleweight.
Did Terence Crawford beat Canelo Álvarez?
Yes — by unanimous decision in September 2025, becoming the first male fighter in the modern era to hold undisputed titles in three different weight divisions.
What is Terence Crawford’s professional boxing record?
42 wins, 0 losses, with 31 wins coming by knockout or stoppage.
What is Terence Crawford’s biggest career win?
Either his ninth-round stoppage of Errol Spence Jr. in 2023 or his decision win over Canelo Álvarez in 2025 — both widely regarded among the sport’s biggest fights of their respective years.