Crawford is the first male fighter of the four-belt era to become the undisputed champion in two weight divisions (beaten to the punch only by Claressa Shields on the women’s side). 

Born on September 28, 1987, in Omaha, Nebraska, “Bud” is the rare American boxer who made it to the top without moving to a hotbed like Los Angeles or Las Vegas. He started boxing as a kid, was a standout amateur and turned pro in 2008.

Crawford’s first world title was the WBO lightweight strap he took from Ricky Burns via unanimous decision in 2014. He’d add the first Ring belt to his collection two fights later by outpointing Raymundo Beltran for the 135-pound championship. He then began his climb through the divisions with a sixth-round stoppage of Thomas Dulorme for the WBO junior welterweight title – the fight was a prime example of what would become Crawford’s signature narrative: a slow, calculated start followed by a stone-cold beatdown. 

He picked up another Ring belt at 140 pounds by outpointing Viktor Postol, then posted three knockouts in which he unified all the major titles to become undisputed. After that, it was on to 147. In his first fight at welterweight, Crawford knocked out Jeff Horn for the WBO belt, defended six times (all by knockout) and then won the undisputed championship in the biggest fight of his career – an absolutely dominant nine-round dismantling of Errol Spence Jr. The victory lifted Crawford to the top of The Ring’s pound-for-pound list and also put an end to a frustrating aspect of his career, in which promoter wars kept him from facing the biggest opponents. 

In July 2024, Crawford became a four-division titleholder when he outpointed Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight belt.

KNOWN FOR: Crawford usually takes his time in the early rounds to scope out his opponents. Once he’s got the game plan, he ramps up the pressure. He’s an adept switch-hitter and uses a great jab to set up attacks from either stance, plus his combination of slippery defense, speed, accuracy and timing makes him a dangerous counterpuncher. Most of all, Crawford is known for his endgame – he can finish the show with ruthless efficiency.