Is The Champ Really Retiring? Terence Crawford’s Best Knockouts

terence-crawford-best-knockouts — Source: Steve Marcus / Getty

When Terence “Bud” Crawford announced that he’s hanging up the gloves, it hit the boxing world like a late-round knockdown. Even in an era of retirements coming and going, this one feels different. Crawford isn’t just another champion calling it quits — he’s been the standard. A quiet assassin from Omaha who never needed hype, never chased validation, and still managed to dominate every division he touched.

Bud’s career reads like something out of a boxing fairytale. Undisputed at 140, a multi-division champion, and a fighter who passed every eye test while backing it up on paper. He beat slick boxers, pressure fighters, punchers, and champions — often adjusting mid-fight like he was downloading opponents in real time. What separated Crawford wasn’t just power or skill, but his ability to switch gears, switch stances, and completely take over fights once he found the opening.

If this really is the end, Crawford’s retirement leaves a massive void in the sport. Boxing is losing one of its last actual “complete” fighters — someone who didn’t rely on gimmicks, controversy, or social media antics to sell himself. He brought credibility to every card he was on, and when Bud fought, you knew you were watching elite-level boxing. The pound-for-pound lists will keep moving, but replacing his level of mastery won’t be easy.

There’s also the question that lingers—did we truly get all of Bud? Late-career fights against Errol Spence Jr. and others showed he was still operating at an absurdly high level. That’s why the retirement talk feels surreal—he didn’t fade out, he walked away on top, which only strengthens his case in the all-time debates. Fighters dream of leaving the game with their dominance intact. Crawford actually pulled it off.

Whether you call him one of the greatest ever or the greatest, Terence Crawford’s legacy is secure. Before we let the curtain close completely, the only proper way to celebrate Bud’s greatness is by revisiting the moments where his violence, timing, and IQ all met at once — his very best knockouts.

Errol Spence Jr.

A career-defining performance where Crawford dismantled a pound-for-pound king, dropping Spence multiple times and putting on a masterclass that shocked the world.

Shawn Porter

A brutal finish against one of boxing’s most formidable fighters, capped by a perfectly timed counter that ended a war.

Kell Brook

Cold, calculated, and surgical. Crawford broke Brook down and closed the show with ruthless precision.

Jeff Horn

A complete beatdown that showed Crawford’s ability to punish pressure fighters until they couldn’t continue.

Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas

After getting knocked down early, Bud flipped the switch and delivered one of the nastiest comeback finishes of his career.

Amir Khan

Speed met timing, and Crawford’s power ultimately overwhelmed Khan in a fight that ended emphatically.

Julius Indongo

One of Bud’s most violent early finishes, featuring multiple knockdowns and total domination.

Hank Lundy

A reminder that even respected contenders couldn’t survive once Crawford found their weaknesses.