Terence Crawford Floors Dulorme 3 Times in Route to 6th Round Stoppage

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Terence Crawford vs. Thomas Dulorme Tonight’s HBO card was one of the most anticipated in quite some time, but the evening’s co-feature was deserving of some attention, too, although it was lost a bit on the main event. In the televised co-feature, Omaha’s favorite boxer, Terrance “Bud” Crawford, stepped up to junior welterweight for the first time and took on Thomas Dulorme.

The perception was that Crawford was the high ranked fighter worth the world-class tag, while Dulorme was the highly skilled fighter that would never live up to his original aspirations. Crawford, who struggled to make weight in his last 135lb title defense, stayed patient early and allowed Dulorme to dictate based on output.

It was a battle of wits early on, but Dulorme was sticking to his one-two punching without following up. Crawford on the other hand, was willing to engage with more conviction. Crawford was more impressive even by staying reserved.

Dulorme had made the first few rounds competitive, but Crawford slowly started establishing his game plan and getting comfortable. Crawford was landing the harder punches, but Dulorme was certainly in the fight.

Through 5 rounds, it was pretty even, although the case could be made that Crawford was making a better impression.

In round 6, Crawford finally caught Dulorme with a big punch square on the chin that sent him to the ropes. Dulorme did the smart thing by taking a knee. Dulorme was clearly hurt, apparent by his wobbly legs, and he was sent back to the canvas for the second time in the round moments later. Dulorme was taking plenty of punishment and Crawford was looking to close the show. The referee Rafael Ramos was taking a close look at Dulorme before he took yet another knee, but it was enough for the referee to call a halt to the bout.

In the post-fight interview, Crawford said he felt strong at his first fight at 140, and he looked strong.