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The only thing that Franchon Crews-Dezurn ever asked of her team was to provide the opportunity to shine.
She promised to take care of the rest from there, backing up that claim with her best career win to date in her most recent start. The Baltimore native defended her WBC/WBO titles while dethroning unbeaten WBA/IBF super middleweight titlist Elin Cederroos via unanimous decision in their April 30 undisputed championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City that was more than a year in the making.
“Everything happens in divine order,” Crews-Dezurn told BoxingScene.com. “This was my moment. I didn’t have nerves so that kind of freaked me out. But I guess it was just that confidence. My manager, Peter Kahn, set me up for success. I worked with a nutritionist, this was my first fight with Matchroom Boxing.
“Honestly, this wasn’t even my best. I didn’t show my full arsenal. I don’t want to say it was easy work but I didn’t have to bring it all out.”
Crews-Dezurn became the first female fighter in history to claim undisputed championship status at super middleweight. She had a shot at becoming boxing’s first-ever super middleweight to do so, regardless of gender.
However, her previously scheduled fight with Cederroos was part of the comically mishandled Triller Pay-Per-View event to have been headlined by the lightweight championship between then-unbeaten king Teofimo Lopez Jr. and his ultimate conqueror George Kambosos Jr. The lightweight bout was given several new dates, while Crews-Dezurn and Cederroos were given the runaround.
The development and inability to reschedule led Crews-Dezurn to throw up deuces and bolt from Golden Boy Promotions, signing with Matchroom earlier this year and with the fight versus Cederroos as the first order of business. Matchroom and Kahn both worked to get the fight on an event that was billed as the biggest night in women’s boxing history—a claim on which event handlers and defending lightweight champion Katie Taylor and record-setting seven-division champ Amanda Serrano somehow overdelivered. Taylor (21-0, 6KOs) claimed a split decision win to defend her lightweight championship versus Serrano (42-2-1, 30KOs) in a pound-for-pound showdown for the ages atop the DAZN show.
Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2KOs) helped prime the crowd with her near-flawless performance in the first of two undisputed championships on the card. While boasting the credentials and charisma to eventually take the lead on her own shows, getting to this point was good enough.
“I’m an alpha female. I was okay with supporting them,” admitted Crews-Dezurn. “This entire card brought together women in boxing of past, present and future. I’ve known Katie through past tournaments for years. Amanda is a legend in her own right. Christy Martin was right in front of me when we were watching the main event. Laila Ali came and found me to show a video.
“Even the present fighters. Claressa Shields was the first one to congratulate me in the locker room. Alycia Baumgardner, Mikaela Mayer, Skye Nicolson, Seniesa Estrada—all those fighters showed me crazy love. They know how hard I work and know what I’ve been through. All these fighters, they call me the ambassador.”
For the first time in her career, Crews-Dezurn can now be called the undisputed champion. It seemed far fetched at the time of her pro debut, which came against Shields who also just turned pro following an historic amateur career complete with back-to-back Olympic Gold medal wins. Shields won their November 2016 clash via four-round decision, going on to become a three-division champion and the reigning pound-for-pound queen.
The two remain close friends—often referring to each other as boxing’s version of Serena and Venus Williams. It’s possible that their paths will once again cross, a moment that both anticipated.
For now, the reigning champ intends to take the victory lap she’s waited for at least a year to fully enjoy.
“It still hasn’t sunken in yet,” noted Crews-Dezurn. “I was part of something amazing and was totally prepared.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox