IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr had the room in laughter today when he interrupted Terence Crawford while bragging about his accomplishments to point out that he’s never fought anyone good during his career and that his former promoters at Top Rank had matched him well.
With Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) telling it like it is by putting the spotlight on the machinery that produced Crawford’s 39-0 record, it got the Omaha, Nebraska native upset, forcing him off script for what appeared to be a well-rehearsed, wooden monologue.
This brief interaction between the two fighters was the best part of today’s kick-off press conference for their July 29th undisputed welterweight fight on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Terence’s wins at 147
- David Avanesyan
- Shawn Porter
- Kell Brook
- Amir Khan
- Jeff Horn
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas
- Jose Benavidez Jr
Crawford may not like what Spence was saying, but it’s actually the truth. Top Rank fed Crawford tomato cans his entire career, and now that he’s no longer with them and on the wrong side of 30, it’s too late to make up for a career’s worth of poor opposition.
The unfortunate thing about the Spence vs. Crawford fight is that it’s happening later in their respective careers. Both believe that the winner will decide who the #1 fighter is in the 147-lb division, but you can’t say.
To be the true #1, the winner of the two Spence-Crawrord fights would need to stay around at 147 long enough to face these killers: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, Eimantas Stanionis, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Alexis Rocha, and Roiman Villa. That’s not going to happen, so the winner of Spence vs. Crawford will only decide who the better guy is between them.
Even then, it may not reveal a clear picture. If these two had fought in their primes, we’d likely see a different outcome than we will from their fight on July 29th.
Neither are in the zenith of their careers. Crawford is nearing 40, while Spence has eye issues and has been in two bad car crashes that have kept him out of the ring.
Terence Crawford: “That would solidify me as the greatest fighter of this era.”
Errol Spence: “Definitely not, man. I’m not going to lie. Top Rank has got the best matchmakers in the business. You
ain’t fought nobody, man. You haven’t beaten anybody. Who
you fight at 147? Porter said he did not train like he should. Kell Brook was already broken.”
In fairness to Top Rank, they probably would have matched Crawford against better opposition, but with him being a switch-hitting counter-puncher unable to sell PPV fights due to his small fan base and lack of charisma, it limited their options.
