Terence Crawford picks John Molina Jr. apart before finishing him in 8th

Super lightweight champion Terence Crawford put on an exhibition of spectacular boxing and punching skills Saturday night in his hometown of Omaha, hitting his vastly overmatched opponent John Molina Jr. at will before finishing the challenger in the eighth round to retain his 140-pound belts.

Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs), picked Molina apart round after round with precision punching in this mismatch, changing his stance from orthodox to southpaw and back again throughout the fight as has become his custom. Molina, meanwhile, chased Crawford around the ring looking for the home-run punch, a tactic he had used with success at times during his career, As a result, he left himself open constantly for Crawford's lightning-quick combinations, while landing a haymaker every now and then.

In the eighth round, Crawford decided it was time to end it and assaulted Molina in the corner, going to the head and body with a flurry, before referee Mark Nelson stepped in and stopped it at 2:32 of the round.

Crawford, who retained his WBO and WBC titles, said he has done enough this year to win the Fighter of the Year title for the second time. He won it in 2014.

"I showed everything in this fight," he said. "Credit to John Molina. He came, he fought, he did everything he could do. But at the same time I'm just a fighter. I don't make the fights. I just fight them."

The CompuBox punch stats showed the disparity between the fighters and their styles. Crawford connected on 184 of 419 punches (44%), while Molina (29-7, 23 KOs) landed only 14% of his punches (41 of 287).

Molina weighed in four pounds over the 140-pound limit on Friday, and thus was not eligible to win the belt if he had won the fight.

Crawford was asked about the possibility of fighting WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao next.

"That's up to Bob Arum, my managers and my coaches," he said. "Of course I would like to fight Pacquiao, but at the same time it's a business."

"I just want them belts," he continued. "If I can't get Pacquiao I want (other champions)."

(Terence 'Bud' Crawford, right, connects with a punch to John Molina Jr. during their junior welterweight boxing bout at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha. Photo by Nati Harnik, AP)