Artur Beterbiev has enjoyed watching
Terence Crawford's career.
The future first ballot Hall of Famer rarely had a close fight and reigned over several weight divisions as a three-time undisputed champion. Yet, the former five-division belt holder
recently decided to call time on his glittering career.
Now that he’s walked away and is moving on to a new phase in his life, Beterbiev wanted to pay him respect.
“Congratulations on such a historically beautiful career,” Beterbiev wrote on his Instagram account.
Before retiring, Crawford made history by becoming the first male in the four-belt era to become an undisputed champion in three weight classes, thanks to
his points win over Canelo Alvarez on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
There were times, however, that Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) appeared ready to keep fighting. He flirted with the idea of defending his undisputed titles. He also
gave some brief thought of moving down in weight in an attempt to conquer the middleweight division.
Beterbiev, who made history of his own by becoming the light heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion in October 2024, knows what it takes to collect every belt. In short, it’s a taxing process. So, with Crawford completing that goal on three separate occasions, Beterbiev salutes him for doing what many considered unthinkable.
“It's incredible to become the first undisputed champion in three weight classes in the history of professional boxing and did it undefeated,” Beterbiev continued. “Some might even think that such achievements are impossible, but Terence Crawford did it.”