By Sean Jones: Tim Bradley is still riled up about Errol Spence Jr. not crossing the street to face the Top Rank promoted Terence Crawford. Earlier this week, Bradley criticized Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) for him not having made a move to face WBO welterweight champion Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) in a unification fight to decide who the #1 fighter at 147 is.
Bradley is in a big hurry for Crawford and Spence to fight each other, and sounds ultra-needy right now. It wouldn’t look so bad if Bradley wasn’t wearing a broadcaster’s cap in working for ESPN. It obviously helps Bradley if Spence chooses to fight Crawford, because it’s far better fight than the guys Terence has been fighting for the last 10 years.
Spence says he thinks the fight with Crawford will take place in 2020, but that will depend on whether the two keep winning. With the limited options Crawford has with the guys his promoters at Top Rank are matching him against, he could hold onto his WBO title for many years to come. It’s going to be harder for Spence to remain the IBF champion for long, because his management at Premier Boxing Champions have a lot of good opponents for him to fight.
Errol is facing WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) next month on September 28 on Fox Sports PPV at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. In contrast, Crawford will be facing either Egidijus Kavaliauskas or Luis Collazo next.
Bradley denies ducking Spence
“It’s not beautiful all the time, but it works,” said Bradley to AB Boxing News about Shawn Porter’s fighting style. “He [Spence] said the WBC ordered the fight? He’s right; the WBC did ordered the fight, but check this out,” said Bradley in admitting that he chose not to fight Spence when the World Boxing Council ordered him to face him before he retired. “I fought Manny Pacquiao instead of Errol Spence, one.
The second thing is when the hell have we been doing business with anybody from Top Rank doing business with Al Haymon? Bro, say whatever you want to say. Duck you, and retire because I don’t want to face you? I don’t want to start cussing. You know who I am, bro? Five world championships, and [former] two division world champion, bro. Alright, come on now. I fought Manny Pacquiao, the guy that you’re trying to fight at 40-years-old right now. A guy you keep screaming about instead of you screaming about fighting a guy Terence Crawford, who is the #1 guy in the division right now, in my opinion. But you don’t want to face him. That’s what it’s all about.
Bradley says he had Pacquiao and didn’t need Spence
“When I was coming up, that was the problem,” said Bradley. “I couldn’t fight anybody on PBC. You know what I’m saying? We didn’t do business with PBC, and the WBC did order it [Spence vs. Bradley], but the fight wasn’t going to be made, because we [Top Rank] didn’t ever do business with them [PBC]. You know what I’m saying? The fight wasn’t going to get made. So why would I ever go down that alley when I got Manny Pacquiao right in front of me, who is a tougher fighter than Errol Spence. That’s what it’s all about. That’s boxing,” said Bradley.
It’s too bad Bradley wasn’t pushing Top Rank hard for them to match him against Spence when the WBC ordered that fight. If Bradley was as eager to fight Spence back in 2016 as he is for him to face Crawford, perhaps Top Rank would have made the fight. Bradley could have moved on when his contact with Top Rank expired late in his career. He’d already fought Pacquiao twice, and it was clear that there was no one else with top Rank for him to fight. Instead of leaving the company, Bradley re-upped for one more fight with Pacquiao, and missed out on big money matches against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman and Amir Khan.
Spence vs. Crawford if 50-50 fight says Bradley
“Then when you have a network like Fox, and all the people over there that don’t even put Terence Crawford as a champion when they’re showing the weight class,” said Bradley. “That’s dirty, man. That’s not right. They have their own thing over there. I’m tired of it. You know what I’m saying? I’m comfortable in my skin. I don’t care what anyone says. I’m here broadcasting boxing. I’m here talking about boxing period. I don’t care. I’m here to cover the whole sport. And, I’m going to tell it from my position. I’m going to tell it like it is.
You can say whatever you want to say. Terence says, ‘No, he’s not ducking.’ Terence is going to say that. You know why? Because he’s a business man. That’s why he has to say that. He can’t talk trash about Errol Spence. It’s a great fight. It’s a 50-50 fight. You already know I’m a Terence Crawford guy. I like Crawford. Spence is no joke, but I’m a Terence Crawford guy. You’ve got a lot of dimensions to Spence. Spence is tough. He showed a different wrinkle against [Mikey] Garcia. We’ve seen him bully guys. You know, manhandle them as well. He’s tough, but it’s going to come down to who is going to be able to make the adjustments at the right time. Who is going to be able to make the adjustments? That’s what it’s about in that fight,” said Bradley.
The way Crawford struggled against Jose Benavidez last October, it’s not a 50-50 fight between him and Spence. It’s more like 80-20 in Spence’s favor.
Bradley wants Spence and Crawford to fight three times
“Both guys are smart, and both guys are consistent,” said Bradley about Crawford and Spence. “This is a great fight. That’s the main reason why I want to see them fight. Don’t you want to see the fight? Stop saying you’re the best. Beat a body. Step up and fight. What are you doing to do, wait until Terence Crawford is 40-years-old or 35-years-old? You know what I’m saying? Are you waiting for him to look a little bit rusty or something like that, and say, ‘I want him now.’ Come on, man. That ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. Fight him in his prime. You’re in your prime. You can run it back two times if you want. You can run it back three times. Everybody is happy, and making money, and then we know who’s the best in the weight class,” said Bradley.
Spence wants to take the easy road says Bradley
“We got back with Thurman, and go back with Shawn Porter,” said Bradley. “We go back with all those guys. Come on, you want to fight? Let’s fight. What are we doing? ‘Oh, I’m going to take the easier path.’ That came out of Spence’s mouth. ‘I’m going to take the easier road.’ Why would I do that [fight Crawford] if I’m taking the easier path, and then fight those guys Shawn Porter, then fight this guy or that guy. You know what I’m saying? You want to be the best, then fight Terence Crawford. He’s considered #1, #2 pound-for-pound, depending on where you got him at, depending on what you like for the #1 guy. [Vasiliy] Lomachenko is #2 to me, If that’s where you want to be, fight Terence Crawford,” said Bradley to Spence.
It sounds like Bradley is dreaming in talking about Spence and Crawford fighting each other three times. Right now, Bradley should be hoping they fight even once. Crawford is getting older at 31, and his hand speed is going to start deteriorating. Once that happens, Crawford will need to make a decision whether he should stay at 147 or move back down to 140.