Terence Crawford stops Errol Spence Jr. to win undisputed welterweight crown - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Terence Crawford dismantled Errol Spence Jr. in a tour de force performance, scoring a ninth-round TKO in the long-awaited super fight to capture the undisputed welterweight championship on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Crawford floored Spence in Round 2 and twice in Round 7, a two-fisted beatdown of Spence to wrest away the IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound titles to go along with his WBO belt.

Crawford, 35, buckled a blooded and swollen Spence in Round 9 and was unloading unanswered shots when referee Harvey Dock mercifully ended the punishment at 2 minutes, 32 seconds.

Spence protested the stoppage but appeared to lose every round besides the opening frame.

«Like I said before, I only dreamed of being a world champion,» Crawford said in his ring interview. «I'm an overachiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer. And I want to thank Spence and his team, like I told him, because without him none of this would be possible for me.»

The meeting of elite boxers was arguably the most anticipated boxing match since the mega fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

Crawford was accompanied by music superstar Eminem and his seminal hit «Lose Yourself» as he entered the ring before he delivered the biggest win of his career.

There's a bidirectional rematch clause that the loser can trigger within 30 days of the fight. The winner is able to choose if the return bout takes place at 147 or 154 pounds.

Crawford is ESPN's No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer, with Spence three spots behind him at No. 4.

Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) had never been knocked down entering Saturday's fight.

Since Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) captured the WBO welterweight title in his first fight at 147 pounds in