Crawford defeats Diaz to retain WBC and WBO titles
WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs) defeated Dominican Republic's Felix Diaz (19-2, 9 KOs) to retain his titles on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA.
Diaz’s corner stopped the fight after 10 rounds, giving Crawford a TKO victory.
The unbeaten American landed blow after blow and Diaz's eyes began to swell by the fourth round.
Diaz landed several solid shots of his own, but he could not sustain any attack because Crawford’s counter punching, holding and moving around.
In the later rounds, Diaz could no longer get any offence going due to vision problems - his right eye was almost closed and his left eye was swollen - and he was taking a beating.
Diaz's trainer, Joel Diaz asked referee Steve Willis to stop the fight at the end of the 10th.
Crawford could next fight IBF/WBA champion Julius Indongo in a 140 lb unification clash this summer. Then he is likely to move up in weight for a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao at welterweight.