'My mind was gone'

Defeated Namibian boxer Julius Indongo says his mind was gone when Terence Crawford landed a barrage of punches during their four-belt unification bout at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska yesterday morning.Crawford became the only undisputed world champion in professional boxing after capturing the WBA, IBF, WBO and WBC junior welterweight belts with a third-round knockout. 'When he hit me, it hurt so bad,' Indongo was quoted as saying after the match.'When he hit me like that, my mind was gone.'Crawford, from the US, came in with the WBC and WBO belts, while Indongo was the WBA and IBF champion.Crawford became the first fighter in 11 years to hold all four titles by winning the scheduled 12-round contest between the two previously unbeaten boxers.“I feel great. I feel like I hardly even fought,” Crawford said.The 29-year-old joined Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor as the only four belt champions in modern boxing history.Crawford used his superior hand speed and power to dominate every round as he knocked underdog Indongo down for the first time in the second round with a left to the side of the head.He ended the fight just one round later by flooring the former Olympian with a body shot. Crawford missed with a right hook but then came back with a left to the upper chest that sent Indongo crumbling to the canvas.“It feels like a dream come true. Belts matter,” said Crawford, who improved to 32-0 with 23 knockouts. “I am the one who wants to be labelled the champ at 140.”Middleweight Taylor was the last undisputed boxing champ until his reign ended in 2006.The 34-year-old Indongo, who is unfamiliar to most boxing fans in the US, landed very few punches in the three rounds as he dropped to 22-1 overall.Indongo, who was born and raised in Namibia, competed in the 2008 Olympics.Crawford won a close first round that served as a platform for the pair to feel each other out. Crawford went to work in the second, breaking his opponent down by easily getting the better of the exchanges in the centre of the ring.Indongo came in as a heavy underdog and looked the part as he failed to connect on his wide looping punches and left himself open for Crawford's stinging lefts.The third round knockout came as a surprise as Crawford missed with a right hook then landed what looked like a routine body shot.“We been practising body shots all camp. Everything we practised in camp it came out in the fight,” Crawford said. -Additional reporting by own reporterNAMPA/AFP

'My mind was gone'

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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'My mind was gone'

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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