Terence Crawford made history by joining elite group of four-weight world champions and brought the stars out with Eminem performing and Mike Tyson ringside

Terence Crawford got the job done, just about, as he beat Israil Madrimov on Saturday night in LA.

The American boxing star topped a Saudi-backed Riyadh Season Card staged in the USA and emerged victorious as a four-weight world champion in the main event.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

The fiery California sun blazed down on LAFC’s 2018-constructed BMO Stadium as the card got underway.

For the initial stages of the show, the modern stadium hosted reporters including talkSPORT.com in the press box normally home to MLS reporters.

The afternoon began with two routine prelim fights between 1pm-3pm local time, one of which did not exactly go to plan.

Saudi Arabia’s emerging super-lightweight prospect Ziyad Almaayouf was shockingly held to a draw by Polish journeyman Michal Bulik.

Shortly afterwards, Terence Crawford‘s gym mate Steven Nelson successfully knocked out Marcos Vazquez Rodriguez to move to 20-0.

Cuban starlet Andy Cruz opened up the main broadcast at 3:30pm and weathered an early storm to stop Antonio Moran in round seven.

David Morrell was up next and outpointed Radivoje Kalajdzic in his light-heavyweight debut.

At this point His Excellency Turki Alalshikh arrived at the event he was staging and was seen talking to Eddie Hearn and Shakur Stevenson at ringside.

Hearn told talkSPORT.com this week that he is in talks with HE Alalshikh about potentially making Stevenson vs William Zepeda on a Riyadh Season card later this year.

The heavyweight clash between Jared Anderson and Martin Bakole followed this interlude and provided fantastic drama.

A shocked gasp could be heard around the press room as American reporters watched the USA’s top heavyweight prospect floored in the very first round.

He was then knocked out in round five in a big upset which will have huge ramifications for the future of American heavyweight boxing.

At this point reporters were guided down to media seating in the ringside section, which was surrounded by the pathways celebrities and boxing legends walked to take their seats in the inner ringside section.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

Mark Robinson/ Matchroom Boxing

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez Sr was mobbed and drew a massive roar from the crowd as he arrived, similar to Oscar De La Hoya, while Devin Haney received a mixed reception.

Chavez Sr’s rapturous reception was heightened by the major presence of Mexican fans in attendance to support their boxers on the card.

Andy Ruiz was cheered loudly as he emerged for his clash with Jarrell Miller.

However his performance didn’t justify it as he laboured to a controversial draw and was booed post-fight by the same fans who celebrated his entrance.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

DAZN

‘Pitbull’ Cruz received an immense reception of his own.

And major celebrity names such as actress Kate Beckinsale, singer Alicia Keys and TV personality Piers Morgan arrived as he took to the ring.

Mike Tyson also sat down just in time to watch Cruz, who he’d previously described as the current boxer most like himself.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

The sun set during the co-main event which turned out to be controversial as Valenzuela beat Cruz to win his WBA super-lightweight world title, but was booed by the pro-Pitbull crowd.

Not long later though, the fans in attendance were in ecstasy as Eminem performed Houdini, Rap God, Cinderella Man and Lose Yourself.

He was then followed by extravagant ring walks for both Madrimov and Crawford who were lifted high into the air on rising platforms while fireworks went off from the roof of the arena.

The national anthems then preceded Michael Buffer’s famous words, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble,’ and everybody except for the two fighters and the referee left the ring.

In the end the main event was far from a thriller and played out as a 12-round chess match.

Crawford emerged victorious with a narrow unanimous decision to take Madrimov’s WBA super-welterweight world title and become a four-weight world champion.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

There are at least 17 male boxers to have held world titles in four or more divisions.

Manny Pacquiao (eight), Oscar De La Hoya (six), Floyd Mayweather (five), Thomas Hearns (five) and Sugar Ray Leonard (five) are among the select few to have held titles in more than four weight classes.

While the likes of Roy Jones Jr, Pernell Whitaker, Canelo Alvarez and Roberto Duran have all won world titles in exactly four.

Crawford now joins that elite club and will move on to bigger fights as his magnificent career edges slowly towards its conclusion.