By now you've heard: After eleven grueling rounds, Terrance Crawford KO'd Jose Benvenitez in the closing minute of the twelvth with an upward rocket shot that almost lifted Benvenitez off his feet. It was a fitting end for months of hostility between the two boxers with over-the-top trash talk coming from Benvenitez.
I'm no purist when it comes to boxing and no stranger to trash talk. Lord knows I've heard enough of it. Up to here with it, actually. There was a time when it was fun and not so malicious as it has become. I remember being at ringside during Muhammad Ali's sparring matches and listening to him with amusement as he taunted his opponents to fight harder. "C'mon chump, shoot your load. Is that all you got?" And so forth, but aside from the violence, which was very real, Ali usually finished with a wink and a nod.
But with this match-up, it seemed Jose was drumming up pure hatred. Crawford did his usual job of tamping things down. He's seen enough of violence not to be impressed with it. I like Jose B, to tell the truth, and I understand he was trying to drum up the subterranean rivalry between Mexican and African-American street gangs. And I understand his purpose was to draw Crawford into a brawl where his (Jose's) power and size would be the determining factor. But there was no excuse for descending to the level that he did. So while I liked him as a fighter, I was glad Crawford knocked him down and finished him off. It wasn't easy -- Jose B fought a great fight in which he believed more in his power than in any kind of strategy.
Crawford pulled him out into the deep water, Jose tired, and those classy Sugar Ray (both) combinations kept raining down and around.
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