Terence Crawford is about to jump two weight divisions to face Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight titles.
Crawford is used to traversing divisions, holding belts at light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight.
A two-weight division jump is nonetheless unusual for many fighters, but it has been tried before. Even his opponent, Canelo, is no stranger to testing himself two classes above.
With that, here is a list of five fighters who jumped similar classes and the results of their quests for legacy.
Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar De La Hoya
No championships were on the line when Manny Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya in his first fight at welterweight.
It was seen as a step too far for a man who had once been a champion down at flyweight.
However, this was flipped on its head when Pacquiao used his speed and footwork to outbox the Mexican.
When the eighth round ended, ‘Golden Boy’ remained on his stool as his team pulled him out of the fight.
It is fitting to look back on this now as, at 46 years old, Pacquiao will be battling Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in July.
Juan Manuel Marquez vs Floyd Mayweather Jr
Super featherweight Juan Manuel Marquez faced Floyd Mayweather, who returned from a two-year hiatus after knocking out Ricky Hatton.
Marquez not only had weight to contend with but also the proposition of the pound for pound number one.
Weight turned out to be a huge issue, ‘Money’ Mayweather controversially coming in over the catchweight agreed yet failing to incur a fine or pay Marquez because of a last-minute change to the fight contract.
Whether this played a factor or not, the Mexican was outmatched on the night.
He was dropped in round two and lost a wide unanimous decision on the scorecards.
Kell Brook vs Gennady Golovkin
Jesse Vargas and Chris Eubank Jr were offered GGG, but both fell through, and Kell Brook took the challenge.
Moving from welterweight to face the unified middleweight champion was ill-advised in hindsight but ‘Special K’ showed his grit.
Golovkin at the time boasted a scary 91% KO ratio and Brook would be the latest added to the statistic.
The fifth round onslaught led to trainer Dominic Ingle compassionately throwing in the towel for his man, who needed to be saved from himself.
He would step back down in weight but still take challenges in the form of Errol Spence Jr and Crawford.
Amir Khan vs Canelo Alvarez
Amir Khan was another fighter who struggled to overcome the size discrepancy against ‘Saul’ Alvarez.
Khan had skipped over a stint at light middleweight and went straight into the path of the WBC middleweight champion.
A catchweight was in place for the bout but Alvarez had a clear size advantage.
Sadly for the Olympic silver medallist it ended in brutal fashion when the Mexican landed a famously devastating overhand right to earn a sixth round knockout.
‘King’ would remain at his natural weight of 147 pounds thereafter, losing to Crawford three fights later.
Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev
Canelo was on a mission to win at light heavyweight and become a three-weight world champion – which he achieved in style.
Kovalev was two months removed from a knockout win over Anthony Yarde when he headed into this WBC title defence.
A hard-fought bout ended in Round 11 when the Guadalajara fighter unleashed a left hook, right hand combination to finish ‘Krusher’.
While successful in his first attempt at 175 pounds, Dmitry Bivol outclassed the Mexican on his second attempt.
He is aware of the risks involved but it is why he has to make his attributes count in September.