Keith Thurman gave Terence Crawford massive praise while downgrading Errol Spence Jr during an interview on Friday in previewing their fight on July 29th.
The former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman said that Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) is a fighter with basic fundamentals, with a limited ceiling of how far he can reach.
You could tell from listening to Thurman that he’s not a big fan of IBF, WBA & WBC 147-lb champion Spence, and it’s possible that he’s still hurt & disappointed that he’s chosen not to give him a title shot in the last three years.
‘One Time’ has been badgering Spence, trying to get a title shot but not working for it by staying active like the young hardworking contenders.
He’s been taking the lazy approach to getting a payday against Spence by sitting on his couch and calling him out night & day, and he’s not given him what he wanted.
Thurman pointed out that Spence couldn’t knock out Shawn Porter, whereas Crawford stopped him. In Thurman’s view, this means something. In other words, Crawford stopping Porter translates to him being a superior fighter to Spence.
It could just mean that Porter was at the of the line by the time he fought Crawford in 2021, after fighting just once in the last two years previous to that fight.
Porter had his last stand against Spence in 2019, and he took terrible punishment through the full twelve rounds. After that fight, Porter fought just once, beating Sebastian Formella.
“He has great defense and can work the body well, but when you stack these attributes, they only reach so high,” said Keith Thurman to Fighthype about Errol Spence.
“[Crawford] seems like he has more. Spence fought Shawn [Porter] and didn’t stop him. Terence Crawford stopped Shawn Porter. You get some cool points on this side. You get a five-star rating.
“Crawford brings speed and agility, something Spence has never seen. Spence has never seen an athletic boxer like Crawford. It’s hard to get into a discussion and not like Terence Crawford,” said Thurman.
The motivation that Thurman once had for his career disappeared after his fight with Danny Garcia. He made a lot of money in that fight, and he’s fought three times since in the last six years.
Thurman says he’s going to be making an announcement to name his next opponent during the Spence vs. Crawford fight.
It’s believed that he’s going to be fighting WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas next. The boxing public wants to see Thurman fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, but that’s not going to happen.
