The 2024 ESPY Awards were held on July 11th, 2024, and one of the awards being given out was Best Boxer.
The nominees for this Bext Boxer award were Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk, Undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion Naoya Inoue, WBA and WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford, and Undisputed Female Minimumweight Champion Seniesa Estrada
The award ended up going to 40-0 undefeated champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, someone who had one of the biggest fights of 2023. Crawford had one of the most dominating performances of the past year, in a fight in which he ended up making history.
Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr.
Terence Crawford’s biggest victory of his career came on July 29th, 2023. He faced off against Errol Spence Jr. to determine an Undisputed Champion in the welterweight division. With both fighters coming in undefeated, many fans expected this to be a war between the two greats.
However, this fight was more of a domination as Crawford dominated on all ends. Up until the fight stopped, the judges had Bud winning every round but one. He ended the fight in the ninth round via TKO, as it was clear that Spence was not countering his punches.
This fight turned Crawford into one of the biggest names in the sport, and he was considered by many to be the greatest boxer in the world. This fight also made Crawford the Undisputed Welterweight Boxing Champion, something that’s never been crowned in the four-belt era (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO).
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Fans are Critical of the Best Boxer Decision at the 2024 ESPY Awards
With this award being given to Terence Crawford, many fans have been critical of this decision as they believe that Naoya Inoue may have been more deserving.
However, there seems to be a misunderstanding between those fans and the ESPY Award timeline, as many people’s argument regarding Bud is that he hasn’t fought in 2024. The ESPYS, though, are supposed to be awards given to athletes based on their performances from the previous year up until the date of the event, so in this case, January 2023 to July 2024.
It seems that the problem fans have regarding Bud is that he hasn’t fought this year, but he still meets the criteria because of the fight he had last year against Errol Spence that turned him into an Undisputed Welterweight Champion.
What’s Next for Crawford?
After his huge win over Errol Spence Jr. at welterweight, Terence Crawford has decided to move up to 154 and will fight Israil Madrimov for the WBA and WBO Super Welterweight Championships on August 3rd, 2024.
If he were to win this fight, he would become a four-division World Champion, joining a list that currently includes only 23 other male fighters. Crawford is often regarded as one of the best boxers on the planet right now, and he is a top three fighter in the world in terms of pound-for-pound.
He has become Undisputed in multiple divisions, becoming the first fighter ever to win an Undisputed Championship in two weight classes in the four-belt era. If he were to win this fight and go on to challenge for the WBC and IBF Super Welterweight titles, he would become the only man who could call himself Undisputed in three divisions.
It will be interesting to see if he continues to show his dominance in his upcoming bouts as well.
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