By Sean Jones: Errol Spence Jr says he picked Danny Garcia as his next opponent for December 5th because he wanted to prove to the fans that he was still the “top dog” at 147 after his car crash last year.
Many boxing fans still believe that Terence Crawford is #1, even though he’s never fought anyone good at 147 or 140. For Spence to prove he’s the “top dog” at welterweight, he’ll need to do a lot more than defeat Danny Garcia.
Spence will need to beat Crawford, Manny Pacquiao, and Yordenis Ugas to show he’s #1. He probably won’t bother fighting Ugas, and it’s debatable whether the 41-year-old Pacquiao will resume his career to face Spence before retiring.
It’s too bad that Spence and Crawford didn’t fight each other in early 2019, as both of them looked beatable in their last fights.
While Spence struggled to beat Shawn Porter by a controversial decision year in December, WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) had to rally to defeat Egidijus Kavaliauskas last December.
The 33-year-old Crawford is starting to show age like Vasily Lomachenko, and he’s no longer the fighter he once was.
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) will have his IBF and WBC welterweight titles in play next month on Fox Sports pay-per-view against former two-division world champion Danny ‘Swift’ Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Beating Garcia will show Spence is still one of the best
Spence, 30, has purposefully chosen one of the hardest punchers in the welterweight division in 32-year-old Garcia to show that he can still take a punch, but he’s not intending on making this fight a war like his last one against Shawn Porter.
Errol wanted to prove that he could beat former IBF 147lb Champion Porter at his own game by brawling with him in the trenches.
Before Spence beat Porter in that fashion, no one had outslugged Porter in fighting him at his own game. However, you can make a strong argument that Cuban talent Yordenis Ugas out-punched Porter before Spence did in their fight in March 2019. Still, he was the victim of a highly contentious 12 round decision.
“I chose Danny Garcia because I wanted to rise up to the occasion, and after the car crash, I’m still the top dog in the division and the top guy,” said Errol Spence during Wednesday’s Zoom press conference.
“I will show that I’m a great fighter. His dad says they’re going to dictate the pace and how they’re going to come forward and throw punches and come and take the belt from me in my hometown,” said Spence.
Errol to follow his coaches’ instructions
“Every time I fought in my hometown, I got a knockout or a shutout win,” Errol said. “I’m 100% ready for whatever they bring to the table. We can box or stand there and fight and do whatever we need to do.
I’m going to listen to my coach and not get in the little head games like Shawn Porter. I fought Shawn Porter and beat him at his own game. I’m sure his dad [Angel] wants me to stand and slug with Danny Garcia.
“He’s got a rock jaw chin. I’m going to do whatever I need to do,” said Spence.
It sounds like Spence is going to box Danny Garcia on December 5th instead of punching with him. With all the flak Spence took in his close win over Porter last year, he’s not expected to make the same mistake against Garcia.