JEFF Horn was out of his depth. That was the consensus from the blue-tick brigade on social media, with the overwhelming majority claiming the Australian had no business being in the ring with someone of Terence Crawford’s calibre. Horn put up an admirable fight, but referee Robert Byrd called a stop to the bout in the ninth round after it looked like the Brisbane native was truly out of it. Horn’s camp wasn’t happy with the ninth-round stoppage — all three judges had it 80-72 to Crawford at the time of the stoppage — but the rest of the world knew what the outcome would be, regardless. CRAWFORD DOMINATES HORN, FIGHT STOPPED AS AUSSIE LOSES BELT ‘HE’S GOT COJONES’: HIGH PRAISE, US OFFER FOR BEATEN HORN From the opening round, Twitter was in full force, never leaving Crawford’s corner as the result quickly became more and more apparent.<doc-sep>Terence Crawford's introduction to the welterweight division was a dominant one on Saturday as he disarmed and clinically dismantled WBO champion Jeff Horn. Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs), who unified all four 140-pound titles last August, became boxing's latest three-division champion with a ninth-round TKO of Horn at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "Like I told you all before, I'm strong," Crawford said after the fight. "You all didn't believe me, and I was way stronger than him. You all kept telling me how strong he was but you didn't give me enough credit, and I had to show you all." The 30-year-old Crawford, who entered as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, according to CBS Sports, also made a strong case for his supremacy in the entire sport. Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs), a native of Australia, was simply never in the fight and saw his trademark aggressive style routinely picked apart by Crawford's clean counter shots. "He's a very good boxer," Horn said. "I knew he was going to be on the back foot countering. I thought I could beat him coming forward, and it proved to be a bit too much. Well done, Terence Crawford, a great fighter. He was strong and didn't seem like a smaller guy, that's for sure." Respect box? Subscribe to my podcast -- In This Corner with Brian Campbell -- where we take an in-depth look at the world of boxing each week. How dominant was Crawford? The native of Omaha, Nebraska, outlanded Horn 155-58 and connected on just shot of half of his power shots, according to CompuBox. He also closed the bout by connecting on 47-of-77 power shots over the last two rounds as Horn's output steadily faded. Crawford began to mix in body shots over the final three rounds to further slow Horn down and closed Round 8 by wobbling his opponent with a combination. Crawford's attempt at sharpshooting one round later led to Horn's exit as Crawford rocked him with a left uppercut and floored him moments later on a combination as Horn's glove touched the canvas. After Horn regained his feet, Crawford continued to pour it on along the ropes, forcing referee Robert Byrd to jump in and end the fight. "I was just slightly off balanced," Horn said. "I wish I could keep going until the end, but the ref said to me that he has my interests at heart, and I'm sure Jo, my wife, was happy about it." Horn, 30, saw the end of his real-life "Rocky" story that has grown over the past few years after he transformed from a high school physical education teacher to a world champion. Horn upset Manny Pacquiao last July via disputed decision in Australia but never once had Crawford hurt or in trouble during Horn's first fight in the United States. "You all tried to compare me to Manny Pacquiao. See what I just did to him?" Crawford said. If Crawford's performance wasn't enough of an announcement to the remaining welterweight titleholders, "Bud" closed with a formal declaration. "We here. Like I said, my power carried up and my physicality got stronger. We here now," Crawford said. "I want the other champions. I want the big fights. Bob [Arum, Top Rank promoter], let's make it happen." Crawford vs. Horn scorecard Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Jeff Horn (c) 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 72 Terence Crawford 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 TKO 80 Crawford vs. Horn live updates If you are unable to view the highlights and updates from the fight below, please click here.<doc-sep>
Last updated on .From the section Boxing Terence Crawford has now won three belts in three different divisions Unbeaten Terence Crawford claimed the WBO welterweight world title by outclassing Jeff Horn in Las Vegas. Horn, in the second defence of the belt he won by shocking Manny Pacquiao last July, was pounded remorselessly before American Crawford was awarded a ninth-round technical knockout. The win gives Crawford a world title in a third weight division and takes his record to 33-0 with 24 knockouts. "You all kept telling me how strong he was, so I had show you," he said. "You saw what I did in there. My power carried up, my physicality. Now I want all the champions at welterweight." Former WBO lightweight champion Crawford beat Julius Indongo last August to become the undisputed light-welterweight champion, and his chances of adding a welterweight belt rarely looked in doubt. He floored Horn with a ferocious barrage in the ninth and, although the Australian beat the count, another Crawford attack convinced referee Robert Byrd to end the contest. Santa Cruz successfully defends WBA title Leo Santa Cruz retained his WBA featherweight belt with a unanimous victory over Abner Mares. In a rematch of their 2015 title bout, which Santa Cruz won by a majority decision, the Mexican took his record to 34-1-1 after winning on all three judges' scorecards in Los Angeles. Santa Cruz, who lost the title to Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton in July 2016 before regaining it six months later, won despite suffering a cut over his left eye following a Mares headbutt in the eighth round. "It is just blood. It wasn't bothering my eyes. It just gives me more motivation," he said. "Mares is a tough fighter and I did what I had to do to win the fight."