Welterweight champions Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs( & Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr (28-0, 22 KOs) will go to war tonight in the headliner on Showtime pay-per-view, with the price tag of $84.99 for the event from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Errol & Crawford have a rematch clause, so there’s a strong possibility we’ll see the loser of the fight force a second contest later this year. Obviously, it’s not going to give either guy much time to recover from this battle, but it’s what they have in the contract.
On paper, Spence has most of the things going for him over Crawford, and that is something the oddsmakers have overlooked for some reason. Of course, those guys aren’t full-time boxing fans, so they’re guessing by how the fighters performed in their last couple of contests without taking note of WHO they fought.
Spence – Crawford breakdown
- Power – Spence
- Chin – Spence
- Quality opposition — Spence
- Youth – Spence
- Mobility – Even
- Speed – Crawford
- Jab – Spence
- Inside game – Spence
- Willingness to battle – Spence
As you can see, Crawford is pretty much up against it in this fight, and it looks like he’s on his way to a bad knockout loss to Spence. That’s kind of what happens sometimes when a fighter, who has been matched a certain way their entire careers, suddenly is thrown in the ring with an elite fighter.
Errol has made it 100% clear that he’s coming to “dominate” Crawford because he knows how competitive he is, and he doesn’t want the Nebraska native a sense of confidence that he can do to him what he did against his best opponents to data, Shawn Porter & Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Those old, past their-best guys are not in the same universe as Spence’s talent, so it will be intriguing to see if Crawford can handle his first elite-level opponent of his long career.
IBF, WBA & WBC 147-lb champion Spence doesn’t look flashy in what he does in the ring, but he’s effective.
You won’t see him changing stances repeatedly all night long, trying to use trickery to win as Crawford does, because he doesn’t believe in using cheap gimmicks to win.
Spence vs. Crawford prediction for tonight
Jeepers sees Spence walking Crawford down after a slow start and slowly bludgeoning him with shots to the head & bread basket, winding down the 36-year-old like an old coo-coo clock.
Finally, Crawford will get dropped from a massive right hand to the head in the ninth round. He’ll drunkenly get back to his feet and will be poleaxed with a left hook from Spence. At that point, the referee will step in and wave it off.
Spence wants to “dominate” Crawford tonight
“My personal agenda is to dominate,” said Spence to Stephen. A. Smith’s Youtube channel. “I definitely want to dominate. I’m not a fighter that is satisfied with just a victory. That would be great, but my mindset is domination.
“I want to dominate, especially a person like Terence Crawford, who, with his mentality and is a head-strong dude, a guy that has never been dominated in the professional ranks, and I’m going to be the first person to do that.
“Two very special fighters and a special fight for the sport, and I pick Terence Crawford in the fight, and there’s a reason I pick him because mentally, he’s a little sick in the head to where in these big fights, he’s so mentally confident and strong, and it’s such a huge asset to have,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing, picking Terence Crawford to beat Errol Spence Jr. tonight.
“He has generally no belief that he gets beat in this fight, and I think Errol feels the same. I just feel that with miles on the clock & the comfortable nature of weight-making at 147 lbs, with Terence coming up from 135 to 140 to 147. Errol Spence has been at 147 for a long time.
“They’re two very solid individuals. I’ve spent time around both of them. They’re proper fighters with unbelievable talents, and may the best man win.
“I remember when he made weight for the Kell Brook fight. He was super tight for that fight. It’s still there. The car crash, the retina tear, and a couple of tough fights. He trains with AJ and Derrick James. They’re all saying how unbelievable he looks.
“If this fight is boxed at a frantic pace, I think Terence Crawford wins by stoppage. If it’s cagey, I think he wins on points, but he is my pick.
“This fight is a big fight for the sport, but it’s a massive fight for boxing. The hardcore fight fans, with two of the very best, and it’s the undisputed welterweight championship. It almost has the feel of the good old days with Leonard & Duran with that weight class, with the best fighting the very best.
“We always want the best fights because, one, we love it, and two, that’s where we make our money. The fighters have to take more control of their career to force managers and trainers to take a bit of a risk if they believe because the upside [is worth it],” said Hearn.
