Naoya Inoue put the boxing world on tilt Tuesday night in Tokyo, where he produced a scintillating eighth-round TKO of Stephen Fulton to become the new junior featherweight unified world champion.
A stab jab to the body, changing levels with a pulverizing right hand and a left hook that laid Fulton on his back were the very bits of violence-embodying reasons that they call Inoue "The Monster."
But just as he soared to the top of DAZN's pound-for-pound best rankings, Terence Crawford more than responded with a resounding boxing masterclass of his own.
Crawford dropped the previously-undefeated Errol Spence Jr. three times, before willing a ninth-round TKO to be crowned the undisputed welterweight world champion and notch the second undisputed crown of his career.
Each consecutive knockdown — the first coming in the second round, then two more in the seventh — became more dynamic.
The first knockdown came on a perfectly-placed left-right counter combination:
A sharp right hand to the top of Spence's head triggered the second knockdown:
He then doubled up on ferocious right hooks to make Spence taste the canvas for a third time:
Knowing he had broken down "The Truth," "Bud" ended the show with a plethora of lasered shots to drown out the "Big Fish" and punch his place further into boxing history.
And just like that, Crawford managed to one-up and top one sensational Inoue performance with a dazzling performance of his own to leave little doubts that he's the pound-for-pound best.