FIGHTLINE BY DOUG FISCHER
Fights only last a matter of minutes, but fighters are connected to each other by chains that extend for decades – even centuries – into the past. Their bond is a lineage built face-to- face: A young prospect struggles with the skills of an aging veteran whose nose was once broken by a fighter now enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In that way, muscle memory carries knowledge and boxers face a piece of everyone their opponent has fought, everyone those people fought, and so on. This month we’re linking two American pound-for-pound kings of their respective eras – Sugar Ray Leonard and Terence Crawford. Leonard, the darling of the hugely successful 1976 U.S. Olympic squad, was immediately recognized as the heir apparent to Muhammad Ali in terms of his star potential. However, the native of Palmer Park, Maryland, proved to be a generational boxing talent as well as a crossover attraction, rocketing to his first world title – seized from previously unbeaten wunderkind Wilfred Benitez – within three years of his pro debut. Over the next two years (1980-1981), Leonard cemented his status as the pound-for-pound best with back-to-back showdowns against the legendary Roberto Duran and an epic 14th-round stoppage of Thomas Hearns for the undisputed welterweight championship. Crawford established himself as an elite boxer by winning the Ring lightweight title in 2014 and earning undisputed champion status at junior welterweight three years later. His road to collecting all the 147-pound belts took longer than it did for Leonard due to the fractured nature of this era’s boxing industry. However, when the Omaha native finally received the opportunity to prove his pound-for- pound skillset and mettle vs. Errol Spence Jr. in 2023, he shined like a supernova, handing the unified beltholder his first loss via dominating ninth-round TKO. Like Leonard, who briefly retired after defending his Ring/WBA/WBC 147-pound belts against Bruce Finch in 1982, Crawford wouldn’t remain undisputed welterweight champ for long. After a pit stop at 154 pounds, annexing the same WBA title that Leonard won prior to facing Hearns, the 37-year-old veteran pursued history at super middleweight. Crawford’s performance vs. Canelo Alvarez drew comparisons to Leonard’s storied showing against Marvin Hagler for the Ring/lineal/ WBC middleweight championship. And why not? Both Crawford and Leonard were coming up in weight to face the long-reigning kings of their respective mountains. Hagler and Alvarez’s records were nearly identical going into those megaevents (Canelo, at 63-2-2, was boxing’s most experienced champion; the Marvelous One held a 62-2-2 ledger going into 1987). Leonard shocked the world with a split decision over Hagler and then hung around for two more superfights: his challenge to 175-pound beltholder Donny Lalonde (at 168 pounds) and the long-awaited raucous rematch with Hearns. Crawford’s UD didn’t shock the boxing community, but should he stick around for a couple more fights, as Leonard did, we will be pleasantly surprised. There are multiple paths linking the five-division champs, whose primes are separated by 40 years, but we found this five- boxer Fightline. Can you find a faster route? If so, or if you have another Fightline you’d like to submit, send it to comeoutwriting@gmail.com. And remember, some fighters can be linked on paper by jumping forward and backward in time, but to be a true lineage, the fights must come in chronological order.
CAMACHO TKO 5 LEONARD MARCH 1, 1997
CAMACHO UD 10 LOWRY FEBRUARY 3, 2001
WADE KO 1 LOWRY JULY 17, 2010
GOLOVKIN KO 2 WADE APRIL 23, 2016
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GOLOVKIN D 12 ALVAREZ SEPTEMBER 16, 2017
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CRAWFORD UD 12 ALVAREZ SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
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96 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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