Talk of a mega-fight between the undisputed welterweight and super-middleweight champions, Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, has manufactured into genuine belief that a bizarre, one-of-a-kind title clash could take place.
Although such a jump in weight has never been done on such a stage, this won’t be the first time a fighter has dared to make it…
Amanda Serrano
The fact that Serrano is amongst this list should come as no surprise, holding the astonishing record as a seven-division world champion.
In 2018, the Puerto Rican sensation defeated Yamila Reynoso for the WBO super-lightweight title, before incredibly dropping down six divisions to beat Eva Voraberger for the WBO super-flyweight crown.
Eight months later, Serrano made the three-weight jump to featherweight, where she faced and overcame Heather Hardy, winning the WBO 126lb title by a wide unanimous-decision.
Natasha Jonas
Sticking with the women, Natasha Jonas lost out in her challenge for the undisputed lightweight title in a razor-thin showdown with Katie Taylor back in 2021.
She returned to the ring in November of that year and got back in the winning column against Vaida Masiokaite in a six-round bout, before jumping all the way to super-welterweight for another title shot, just three months later.
There she faced Chris Namus for the vacant WBO super-welterweight title, winning the showdown via second-round knockout and displaying how her power is still effective up at 154lbs.
Lee McAllister
Lee McAllister has certainly had an interesting career path, with ‘The Aberdeen Assassin’ boxing between lightweight and super-welterweight over the course of his time in the ring, as well as a little flurry at heavyweight in his twilight years as a pro.
McAllister won the Scottish Area and Commonwealth lightweight titles, as well as the Ghanaian super-welterweight belt, with a fifteen-year gap in-between on a unique résumé that is unlikely to ever be replicated.
After winning the Scottish Area lightweight belt in 2006, McAllister partook in an eight-round bout against Ben Hudson up at 154lbs, winning each of the eight-rounds as he got his first taste of life as a super-welterweight.
Then in 2018, the Scotsman went up seven divisions all the way to heavyweight, knocking out the once Mike Tyson conqueror, Danny Williams, in round ten of their outlandish showdown.
Nobuhiro Ishida
Anything Crawford can do, Nobuhiro Ishida can do better… The Japanese challenger campaigned at super-welterweight for the majority of his career, but met Gennadiy Golovkin in 2013 in an attempt to claim the WBA middleweight world title, where he lost by third-round knockout.
Ishida had one more outing at middleweight, defeating Elly Pangaribuan by second-round knockout, before jumping up an insane four weight-classes and forty-five pounds to face Japanese heavyweight, Kyotaro Fujimoto.
Ishida was unsuccessful in the peculiar fight with his countryman, losing a close yet unanimous decision, but stuck around as a heavyweight to win two contests in the division, against David Radeff and Kotatsu Takehara, the latter coming by a fourth-round stoppage.
Ishida decided to have one more crack at Fujimoto, with the Japanese heavyweight title on the line, but lost a split-decision to his rival whom many may remember for his knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois over four years later.
Whilst these fighters made the more-or-less unheard of three-weight jump, for Crawford to attempt it against Canelo Alvarez is both commendable and unfathomable.
Only time will tell if the fight will come to fruition and whether ‘Bud’ will be successful if it does, but first Canelo must overcome Jermell Charlo, who is moving up two weight-classes to face the Mexican superstar.