Terence Crawford’s Calculated Attack Leads To KO of Sanabria in Six

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In the co-main event of HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast, highly touted up-and-comer Terence Crawford (21-0, 16 knockouts) took on the much more experienced Alejandro Sanabria in what was supposed to be a ten round affair. Going into the bout, many thought Crawford would finally face the test many felt that he was still lacking at this point in his career. Sanabria was believe to be that test, and the general thought was that if Crawford was impressive in victory then he may finally be ready for some of the lightweight division’s best fighters. Well, Crawford certainly impressed, but the talk of facing the elite may have to wait a little longer.

The opening round was a fairly slow one that saw both fighters relying on the jab to hopefully set up counter shots. With both fighters following the same game plan early, neither was able to land much in the way of meaningful or effective offense. Luckily, things seemed to finally liven up in the following rounds.

Following the slow first round, Sanabria was able to land a couple of left hooks that managed to land fairly flush against Crawford. Unfortunately for Sanabria, Crawford managed to be largely unaffected by the seemingly powerful punches. Instead of looking to make up for the early shots landed against him by Sanabria, Crawford remained calm and calculated in his attack as he managed to catch Sanabria coming in quite often.

The fourth round proved to be one of the more significant for Crawford because he began to really focus his attack on the body of Sanabria. Between the volley of body shots, Crawford also began to sneak in a snapping uppercut that managed to find its mark often throughout the round.

Crawford would continue to keep up this kind of calm bu vicious offense, and ultimately managed to put away the very game Sanabria. Following a fifth round that saw Sanabria badly staggered, Crawford managed to finally seal the deal in the sixth after landing a thudding left hook that dropped Sanabria at the start of the round. Although he beat the ref’s ten-count, Sanabria couldn’t stand still thus forcing the referee to call an end to the fight.

Crawford continues on his quiet path of destruction through the lightweight division, but he still shows some flaws that may prove costly should he immediately go onto facing an opponent at the elite level. Crawford undoubtedly shows the type of potential that could see him be the next kingpin of the lightweight division, but for now let’s hope he continues to grow and learn as a fighter before chasing that title.