Stark difference in height as the 5-foot-4 Cruz and 5-foot-10 Valenzuela move toward the center of the ring. Valenzuela firing jabs in an attempt to keep "Pit Bull’’ Cruz at bay. Good luck with that. Cruz closing the gap and slugging away. Cruz 10, Valenzuela 9.

According to ESPN's Mike Coppinger, the loser of the bout had 30 days following it to trigger a bidirectional clause for a return fight later this year. As part of the clause, the winner of the July fight would decide if the rematch took place at 147 pounds or at Spence's preferred 154.

The match took place on April 20, 2019. Crawford knocked down Khan 2 minutes into the first round with a sharp right hand followed by a left hook and came close to a second knockdown, with Khan seemingly being saved by the bell. Despite making adjustments in rounds two and three, Khan was easily outboxed by the sharper and faster Crawford. The champion switched to southpaw in round four and increased the pressure on Khan. 40 seconds into round six, Crawford hit Khan with an accidental low blow. Despite being given five minutes by referee David Fields to recover, Khan's trainer Virgil Hunter informed the referee that Khan would not be able to continue, giving Crawford the win via TKO. Before the stoppage, Crawford led on the scorecards by 50–44, and 49–45 twice. According to CompuBox stats, Crawford landed 88 of his 211 punches (42%) while Khan landed 44 of his 182 punches (24%). At the post-fight press conference, Crawford accused Khan of "quitting" in the fight, which Khan denied.

Canelo Alvarez: The Mexican star may be two weight classes above Crawford, but Bud seems intent on making it a reality. Much like Alvarez dared to be great against Sergey Kovalev, Crawford is chasing his own historic moment. Perhaps the deep pockets of Turki Alalshikh can make this dream come true.

"I’m just here to win the fight. We’re both prizefighters and I don’t worry about any plans he’s making for after this fight. I don’t think about a knockout, I just think about getting the victory and that’s what weight class does terence crawford fight in I’m gonna do next Saturday.

Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford -- Round 7: Crawford landed a good hook and continued to bomb away, forcing Spence to move backward. Spence landed two big left hands and Crawford threw a counter and Spence went down for the second time in the fight! Spence beat the count and Crawford stalked trying to find the finish, landing more big lefts. Spence came forward and landed a good right hand inside but Crawford is just taking every shot like nothing on this night. Both men landed jabs before Crawford landed a series of heavy shots to the body. A right hook from Crawford dropped Spence again as the round came to an end! Unofficial scorecard: 10-7 Crawford (69-61)

"People after this fight are going to say that Bud Crawford is special. I can assure you that. He'll give me my respect after the fight after I whup that ass. ... Errol doesn't like to back up. I'm the type of fighter where you push me and I push even harder. We both have big hearts and like to fight. It makes for a great action-packed fight."

Crawford and Alvarez are in similar places in their careers, with the power and position in the sport to only take the fights they are interested in. For both men, those decisions are primarily financially motivated with legacy a secondary motivator. There's no bigger fight for Crawford and the only bigger fight for Alvarez might be a clash with David Benavidez, a fighter he's made it clear he's simply not willing to face.

Fourteen months after that accident, Spence routed Danny Garcia via decision. And while many boxers have been forced to retire due to a detached retina, Spence returned from the surgery -- just like Sugar Ray Leonard in the 1980s -- to stop Ugas.

Round 8: Not much to write about this round. Miller just walking forward and Ruiz walking backwards and to his left. Miller has thrown nothing but jabs all round long. That said, Ruiz hasn’t thrown anything either. Ruiz could easily have stolen that round with the slightest bit of activity, but he didn’t.

Filling an undercard with great fights doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to sell. But if that is done, and the fights turn out as expected, fans will feel as if they’ve gotten their money’s worth. You can add new fans that way. It’s a long-term investment.

Tuto came from Guatemala to Omaha, used to be one of Bud’s sparring partners, and when he couldn’t get fights anymore, started holding the pads. Bernie was one of the most talented boxers in Omaha, and was one of the only people back in the day Lil’ T couldn’t whip. Bernie used to beat up on Bud so bad the kid yelled from a corner in the gym, "wait ’til I get older, wait ’til I get bigger. I’m going to kick your ass!" And, BoMac? He, like anyone else here, knew firsthand about the hellfire that raised them in north Omaha.

Spence should be out of the running until he beats someone decent, which I don’t think he will. He looked like a shot fighter even before the bell rang. He had a glazed over look. I feel bad for stantonis, who is an excellent fighter, and basically got put on the shelf by Ortiz who pulled out of 2 fights in a row at the last minute. Ennis vs Stantonis, winner gets Bud. He can do whatever he wants in the meantime. Beat up Thurman or whoever he wants. Charlo should fight Tsyzu. He earned his right for the next shot at 154. Then a mega fight for the super welter title assuming Bud beats whichever young gun prevails.