Terence Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs) solidified his position as one of the sports best, entering the three weight world champion category with an impressive ninth round stoppage over Jeff Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) to crown himself the WBO welterweight champion at the MGM Grand Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

The start of the bout was tentative with both men taking their time to figure the other out, Crawford made relevant adjustments and started to time Horn with well placed left hands. The frustration was telling from the Australian who played into the hands of Crawford quite literally, lunging in with shots that were easily countered.

It was telling that Crawford started to feel more confident, throughout the middle rounds he lowered his guard and started potshotting Horn at will. Round eight was the beginning of the end, a left hand stopping Horn in his tracks before the ninth brought down the curtain on Horn’s title reign, a left hook from Crawford which looked to graze the head of Horn, dropped him to the canvas before the follow up barrage left the referee with the only option to stop the fight.

Crawford wasted no time afterward to take aim at the other title holders, looking over to his overjoyed promoter (Bob Arum) and saying “let’s make it happen”.