Canelo vs Charlo, Hopkins vs Taylor: Fights between undisputed champions revisited

Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez hold the distinction of being undisputed champions, adding further intrigue to their long-awaited bout next weekend .

After years of rumours, former super lightweight and welterweight king Crawford will jump up to super middleweight to face the man who has united the 168lbs division twice – Canelo.

We’ve seen world champions face each other in unification bouts before, but it is more unusual when two fighters that can claim to have completely conquered a division come face-to-face in the ring.

In anticipation of Canelo-Crawford, we have revisited previous clashes between undisputed champions.

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Hopkins-Taylor 2

Undisputed fighters taking each other on inside the ring is quite a rare occurrence, especially in the four-belt era.

Victory over Bernard Hopkins had made Jermain Taylor an undisputed champion in the first place.

Having won bronze at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, there was hype behind Taylor heading into his professional career, but he was still viewed as an unproven prospect in comparison to Hopkins heading into the first bout between the two men. In fact, that was how the fight was advertised – a passing of the torch moment if Taylor won, or proof that Taylor was not ready if Hopkins was victorious.

Hopkins had been boxing professionally by this point for 16 years; he had reigned as the IBF’s middleweight champion for the best part of six years before adding the WBC strap. He quickly added the WBA version of the championship, before completing the set by taking fellow legend Oscar De La Hoya’s WBO title.

The older fighter was viewed as the favourite, but the fight was close throughout. Ultimately, Taylor took home a split decision , which whilst not controversial, could have easily been given the other way. Hopkins would unsuccessfully appeal the result; but the tightness of the bout paved the way for a rematch five months later. Still aggrieved about the decision, Hopkins activated the rematch clause in hopes of avenging his first loss in 12 years.

However, the second meeting only served to prove Taylor’s credentials further. In a lot of ways, the fight was similar to the first. Taylor started strongly, whilst Hopkins roared back late on. But whereas in the first fight Hopkins had found his second wind early enough to win back rounds, he had left it too late in the second bout.