LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 27: Undefeated boxer Terence Crawford (L) arrives onstage for a news conference at T-Mobile Arena on June 27, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Crawford is scheduled to fight undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13, 2025, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
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David Benavidez's sixth-round TKO win over Gilberto Ramirez got the attention of the entire boxing world on Cinco de Mayo weekend, and that includes Terence Crawford and Claressa Shields. The two boxing greats took to X after The Monster's nasty TKO win to pay their respects to his performance.
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They weren't the only fighters marveling at Benavidez's power display.
Crawford and Shields are two of the most credentialed multi-division champions in modern boxing history, which gives their reactions weight beyond standard post-fight chatter. Crawford recently retired as a four-division undisputed champion after his win over Canelo Alvarez in late 2025. Shields was the first boxer in the four-belt era to become undisputed in three different weight divisions, accomplishing the feat at middleweight, super middleweight, and light middleweight.
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When fighters at that level publicly acknowledge a performance, it lands differently. Benavidez stepping up 25 pounds from light heavyweight to cruiserweight and stopping a unified champion is exactly the kind of accomplishment that draws their respect, because they've each lived the difficulty of dominating across multiple weight classes.
Crawford and Shields weren't alone. The reactions piled up across X within minutes of referee Tony Weeks stepping in, with promoters, analysts, and fellow fighters all chiming in on what felt like a coronation moment for Benavidez.
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The blend of fighter reactions and broadcast-side analysis reflected what most viewers saw in real time — Benavidez's hand speed and pressure overwhelming a fighter the betting public expected to give him real trouble.
Crawford and Benavidez have circled each other publicly for the past several years, with both fighters going back-and-forth about a potential matchup before Crawford's retirement closed that door. Crawford had previously joked about Benavidez's size advantage while still maintaining he had the speed and ring IQ to make the fight competitive.
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Benavidez had rejected dropping to 168 pounds to face Crawford and pointed instead toward potential bouts with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev at light heavyweight. With Crawford retired and Benavidez now a three-division world champion at 32-0 (26 KOs), the matchup that boxing fans long debated has become a nostalgia-only conversation.
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