Teddy Atlas says the Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford fight has come two years too late for it to be as big as it would have been for their July 29th undisputed welterweight bout.
Atlas means that the attention the Spence-Crawford fight would have attracted two or more years ago would have been greater than it is now. The reason for that is both guys have stopped fighting often, and their opposition has left much to be desired.
Teddy does think IBF, WBA & WBO welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) and WBO champ Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) are both still in top form in terms of their physical skills, but the fight isn’t as compelling now.
Crawford is 35, and his last meaningful fight came against an over-the-hill Shawn Porter in 2021. Before that, the last fight that Crawford had against a decent fighter in their prime was against Jose Benavidez Jr in 2018. That was a hard fight for Crawford, as he struggled with the size and power of Benavidez.
Atlas notes that Spence has the size advantage in this fight, and he’ll likely be trying to steamroll Crawford because it would be a mistake for him to get in a boxing match with him, which would play to the strengths of the Omaha, Nebraska native.
Spence will try and walk Crawford down and hammer him to pieces as we saw in his last fight 14 months ago against Yordenis Ugas. Crawford will undoubtedly stay on his bike to prevent Spence from being able to land his big shots. It’s going to be difficult for Crawford to move for twelve rounds, though, as he’d not a spring chicken any longer, and he’s put on size as he’s aged.
“It’s a fight that should be made; it’s finally being made. Thank goodness, it’s not five years too late. It might be two years, but you can’t say for either one of them that their skills have eroded to a place of notice. So that’s good. Pacquiao-Mayweather, five years too late,” said Teddy Atlas to Fight Hub TV about the Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford fight.
“A lot of the fights, five years, three years too late. Lomachenko-Haney, four years too late. Listen, Loma gave a hell of an effort, and I take nothing away from Haney. I give him all the credit in the world. He passed the test when he was being tested in the 10th and 11th.
“This fight [Spence vs. Crawford], no Market erosion. They’re both undefeated. Spence is the naturally bigger guy. He’s a big welterweight; he’s a horse. If he was in the NFL, he’d probably be a fullback because he’ runs you over if he has to. He’s strong, but he’s also more than that.
“He’s got the amateur pedigree in the Olympics, and he’s got all that experience with International experience and with different styles. When he beat Mikey Garcia, a smaller man, but when he
beat him; he took Mikey Garcia’s greatest asset away from him; his ability to control range and box, to counterpunch.
“Spence dominated because of his jab. He has a better IQ. Crawford has a good job, but Spence has one too. He uses the jab. He out-jabbed Mikey Garcia, who if he had an edge, it was that he was smaller, faster, and a little bit trickier in those dimensions.
“He couldn’t do that because Spence took that game away from him with his southpaw jab.
“Crawford, a lot of people like him for his boxing IQ. He can fight with you, he can box, and he likes to control range with his longer arms where he can keep you out of range. Good for him, but bad for you. He can make you pay for real estate,” said Atlas.
