Unexpected outcomes in the ring are part of the game—just as they are across virtually every competitive sport. We revisit that familiar theme after coming across a few recent pieces from the world of boxing, our professional home for more years than we care to count.

(A necessary aside: we often write in the first-person plural because the singular can sound a touch pretentious. The clarification matters because, some time ago, an opinion expressed here was mistakenly taken as the official stance of the organization we work for, the World Boxing Association. To be clear, everything written here is solely the responsibility of the author; the WBA has no involvement in the views expressed.)

As the year that just ended showed, surprises once again took center stage. Among the hundreds of bouts contested worldwide in 2025, five produced outcomes that ran counter to expert consensus and fan expectations. The most significant of them all was the clash between American Terence Crawford and Mexico’s iconic Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who was defending his unified super middleweight crown—an event that deserves special focus here.

One of those surprises came on May 3, when California welterweight Ryan Garcia was knocked off his perceived perch, losing by scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 117-110 to Florida’s Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Fighting under the bright lights of New York’s Times Square, Romero seized control after flooring Garcia with a left hook in the second round, then calmly neutralized every attempt at a comeback. The win lifted Romero to 17-2 (15 KOs), while Garcia—whose market value took a noticeable hit—fell to 24-2 (20 KOs).

On May 31, unbeaten American Tiara Brown, known as “The Dark Menace,” traveled to Sydney, Australia, and delivered a standout performance against hometown favorite and reigning WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson, also undefeated at the time. Brown captured the title by majority decision (97-93, 98-94, 96-94) at Qudos Bank Arena. She later made a successful first defense on September 20, stopping France’s Emma Gorgone with ease.

Another eyebrow-raiser came on May 24 in Glasgow, Scotland, where welterweight Ekow Essuman—born in Botswana and fighting under the British flag—outpointed former undisputed super welterweight champion Josh Taylor by unanimous decision (118-112, 116-113, 115-113) to claim the WBC welterweight title. Taylor suffered the defeat in front of his home fans.

Equally unexpected was the setback suffered by veteran American Caleb Plant, a heavy betting favorite (+1000), against Mexico’s less experienced Jose Armando “Toro” Resendiz. In a thrilling battle on May 31 at Las Vegas’ Michelob Ultra Arena, Resendiz emerged with the WBA interim super middleweight belt (now the lone titleholder) via scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112. At 26, Resendiz improved to 16-2 (11 KOs), while the 32-year-old Plant slipped to 23-3 (14 KOs).

Crawford Puts on a Masterclass

We saved the biggest—and most heavily promoted—fight of the year for last: the unified super middleweight championship showdown between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-2, 39 KOs), holder of the WBA, WBO, IBF, WBC and The Ring belts, and unbeaten American Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). Crawford, a former lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight champion—and previously undisputed at 140—was jumping two divisions in pursuit of history: becoming boxing’s first three-time undisputed champion.

The bout took place on September 9 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, before a crowd exceeding the venue’s 65,000-seat capacity. Promoted by Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, the fight streamed worldwide on Netflix, bypassing traditional pay-per-view. Organizers later reported an astonishing 41 million viewers globally—an unprecedented figure for a single-day sporting event.

Unconfirmed reports suggested Alvarez earned well north of $100 million, with roughly half going to the challenger. Experts largely favored Canelo—five to seven out of every ten picked him—and betting odds reflected that confidence (-139 for Alvarez, +242 for Crawford). The logic was simple: Canelo was at his natural weight, while Crawford was debuting eight-plus pounds above his most recent division.

Those assumptions crumbled quickly. After three or four competitive rounds, the switch-hitting Crawford seized control with speed, precision and relentless pressure—particularly with his lightning-fast left hand. Punch stats told the story: Crawford landed 115 of 534, while Alvarez connected on 99 of 338. Over 12 rounds, Crawford exposed a champion who looked uncharacteristically slow, puzzled and short of answers—clear signs of decline for the Mexican star.

Judges Tim Cheatham, Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld rendered scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112, sealing a deserved victory for Crawford.

Three months later, Terence “Bud” Crawford—undeniably one of the great fighters of the modern era—announced his retirement. He said he had accomplished every goal he set when he turned pro. From learning the basics in a modest Omaha gym at age seven, to debuting professionally on March 14, 2008 with a first-round knockout, Crawford exits the sport with 18 world titles and a permanent place in boxing history as the first three-division undisputed champion of the four-belt era.