Terence Crawford’s big win over Errol Spence Jr has earned him the #1 pound-for-pound position with Ring Magazine for now. Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) looked good enough with his ninth round TKO win over IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-1, 22 KO) be elevated to #1 p-4-p.
Crawford overwhelmed the slow, weak & drained-looking Spence, knocking him down three times and hitting him with hard jabs that were like power shots. By the sixth round, Spence’s face was swollen, and he looked like he needed to be pulled out.
Crawford could face Spence later this year in a rematch, depending on how well he heals and if he chooses to go ahead with it.
It’s going to be difficult for Crawford to hold onto the pound-for-pound slot with #2 Naoya Inoue fighting later this year against IBF & WBA super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales for the undisputed championship.
If Inoue wins that fight, it would make him the undisputed champion in two weight classes, a feat that he will have achieved in less than a year.
1. Terence Crawford
2. Naoya Inoue
3. Oleksandr Usyk
4. Canelo Alvarez
5. Dmitry Bivol
6. Errol Spence
7. Devin Haney
8. Gervonta Davis
9. Teofimo Lopez
10. Vasyl Lomachenko
Crawford should delay rematch with Spence
“Let me make a plea right now to Terence Crawford. I understand you just beat him. You beat him thoroughly. You’re the Undisputed welterweight champion of the world. The WBO, the WBA, the WBC, and the IBF titles all belong to you because you took his three belts to add to your WBO title,” said Stephen A. Smith to his Youtube channel.
“I get that, but you hug them after the fight for a reason. You talked about being relatively decent coming into the fight for a reason.
“When both parties representing both sides were busy acting all up, you have to tell them to calm down and be careful because it doesn’t need to escalate into something that doesn’t need to escalate into.
“Okay, I am taking a plea to Terence Crawford. Even if you elect to give Errol Spence Jr a rematch, please do not do this for at least a year. Please don’t do that. Y’all are cool with one another. You didn’t have a promoter.”
Spence isn’t going to want to wait a year because he’d already been out of the ring for 15 months when he fought Crawford. Likewise, Crawford will probably want to get it over with by fighting Spence so he can move on to fight for the belts at 154.
“You separated from Top Rank, and you ultimately called Errol Spence Jr in the middle of the night one day,” said Smith. “You got on the phone with him directly. He was a champion holding three belts. You knew how good you were, but in the same breath, you didn’t have that promoter connection, and you needed this brother to step up and give you an opportunity.
“He did that for you. PBC with Al Haymon and those brothers did that, and as a result, you agreed to a two-fight deal. I know the stipulations the loser gets to get the mandatory rematch, and the winner gets to decide what weight class,” said Smith.
If the Spence-Crawford fight pulled in a huge number of PPV buys on Showtime, they’ll go ahead and do the rematch later this year and strike while the iron is hot.
Spence’s popularity won’t increase with him sitting inactive for the next year, and he won’t be sharp. Boxing fans won’t be eager to buy the match on PPV if Spence has been inactive for aa year recovering from his loss.
Spence was outclassed
“I know about the 147 pounds and how you nor Errol Spence Jr. wants to fight at that weight again,” said Stephen A. “I know that you’re up Terence Crawford to fighting him at 154. I’m begging you, my brother. I’m begging you ’cause I know you got love, and I’m begging Errol Spence Jr.”
Errol has been in two car crashes in the last four years and had put on a lot of weight in the 15 months he was out of the ring, and that was difficult for him to take off the weight.
“As good as you are, you were just outclassed and all of that other stuff. Crawford destroyed you,” said Smith. “I say that respectfully because I got mad respect for Errol Spence Jr. If you were in the hotels where I was at after the fight, I saw numerous members of the Dallas Cowboys, all of who flew in to watch you.
“They were walking around looking absolutely depressed. I’m not trolling the Cowboys. This is not a joke. It was damn near like there was a death in the family. That’s how thorough this beatdown was.
“[Jermell Charlo is] the reigning 154 pound disputed Champion. You want him. Go get him. Assuming he gets past Canelo, which I got concerns about, please do not fight Errol Spence Jr. Errol Spence, I’m going to say it.
“I’m begging Terence Crawford not to give you a fight for a year. I’m begging you not to fight you. I don’t want you to become Meldrick Taylor.
“We saw what happened to him after that loss to Julio Caesar Chavez, which he should have won but got robbed when he got dropped with just two seconds left in the fight, and it got stopped. It was a ridiculous decision.
“He was never the same since. You ain’t going to be the same either. The best chance you have is to at least wait a year. Terence, don’t fight him. He’s in no condition to fight you by December. He’s in no condition. I’m begging both of y’all. Don’t do this. Don’t do this, please.
“Errol Spence Jr will not recover. I say this respectfully and with love. He will not recover if he gets back in the ring with Terence Crawford by December, and we all, and anybody who knows anything about boxing.
“We know what we’re saying. Don’t do this, Terence. Errol Spence, don’t do this. You don’t need any more punishment. Please don’t do this. Not at least for a year. Please,” said Smith.
