Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

By Boxing News - 11/17/2020 - Comments

By Sean Jones: Fans want to see the unbeaten welterweight champions Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford fight in early 2021. For this fight to have a shot at happening, Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) needs to win his fight against Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) on December 5th.

Spence-Garcia is a match-up that will show whether Errol is the same guy he was previously before he was injured in a horrendous car crash on October 10th last year in Dalla, Texas.

Crawford, 33, could have fought Spence in 2020, but he wanted to wait and make sure he’s 100% healthy before he decides to face him. Crawford didn’t want to take on Spence, 30, and then potentially beat him and not receive credit.

The fans would label Crawford as a ‘cherry-picker’ or ‘opportunist’ if he fought Spence in 2020 and then defeated him. The fans would point out that Crawford beat Spence coming off of a car crash and say that he wasn’t the same guy.

It would be similar to how boxing fans aren’t giving Crawford credit for beating Kell Brook last Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Image: Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

The fans say that Crawford is beating Spence and Gennadiy Golovkin’s leftovers, as both of those fighters beat Brook in his prime three to four years ago.

Spence vs. Crawford would meet all expectations

“Errol Spence, it’s the #1 fight in boxing,” said Max Kellerman when asked who should Terence Crawford fight next. Spence has to beat [Danny] Garcia. He had a car accident a year ago.

“Let’s make sure he’s [Spence] healthy. He should beat Danny Garcia. He’s favored to do so.

“They’re [Spence and Crawford] the two best welterweights in the world, and they’re both undefeated. It would be a unification fight. They can both box, they can both punch, and they’re in and around their best weight class.

“They’re both in and around their prime. Fights like this in the history of boxing almost never take place. There are others like it, but it would be that significant if these two fought right now.

The winner would certainly be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” Kellerman said of Crawford and Spence.

Spence vs. Crawford is a much better fight than Crawford-Pacquiao. There are no comparisons, but you can understand why Crawford wants to fight Pacquiao so badly. He knows it’s a winnable one for him, and he less to worry about than he would against Spence.

Crawford’s face was starting to puff up around both eyes after just three rounds against Kell Brook last Saturday. Can you imagine what Crawford’s eyes would look like after 10 or 11 rounds against Spence?

Terence might not last that long with the rapid swelling we saw against Brook.

Image: Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

Pacquiao is too old to be fighting Crawford

“I don’t necessarily disagree with you,” said Stephen A, Smith. “I’m really vehement about not wanting to see Pacquiao against Crawford because I don’t want to see Pacquiao’s career end like that.

“He’ll get destroyed by Crawford at this stage and point in his career and in his life. I don’t like that match-up for Pacquiao at all,” Smith said.

This is the match-up the fans want to see, not the Crawford vs. Manny Pacquiao, a fight that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is pushing for.

WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) is also pressing hard to fight against the 41-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 29 KOs). He obviously doesn’t care how old the former eight-division world champion Pacquiao is. Crawford wants that name on his resume.

The attention that Crawford would receive would be huge, and the money would be good as well. Crawford calls it the passing of the baton type of fight, but I don’t think that’s realistic.

Pacquiao is no longer the #1 welterweight, so that no baton could be passed between them. Crawford isn’t the most popular fighter at 147, so Pacquiao can’t pass that on to him either.

Even if Crawford beats Pacquiao, he won’t take over as the most popular fighter in the welterweight division. Spence is arguably the second most popular fighter behind Pacquiao.

Image: Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

Danny Garcia, a good gauge to test Spence

As it pertains to Errol Spence, he clearly is the guy. But damn, Max. “How many times did he [Spence] flip over in that car when he crashed?” said Smith.

“I mean, I got to really see him against [Danny] Garcia, who I like a lot by the way and deserves far more respect than he gets.

“I got to see how healthy Errol Spence is, and how much damage to his head [he took]. And I don’t know how healthy he is after that nasty car accident,” said Smith.

“You’re right, but if he beats Garcia, and that’s why Garcia is such a great fight to gauge that right now,” said Kellerman on Danny Garcia is a gauge to tell if Spence is still the same fighter after the car crash.

“If he beats Garcia, he’s still Errol Spence, and then he and Crawford is the best fight in boxing,” Kellerman.

Former two-division world champion Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) might be the biggest puncher in the 147-lb division today with his left hook. He certainly punches harder than Crawford, that’s for sure.

If Garcia lands one of his left hooks on the button on December 5th, he could knockout Spence if he was still feeling the aftereffects of his high-speed car crash last year.

Image: Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

Spence will probably play it safe for as much as possible, but Garcia will eventually get to him. If something isn’t right in Spence’s Bell housing of his brain, Garcia will expose that and take him out.

Arum wants Crawford vs. Pacquiao for the Spring

Bob Arum says he wants to revive talks for a fight between his former Top Rank star Pacquiao and Crawford for the spring in the Middle East. Arum is hoping that Qatar will host the Pacquiao vs. Crawford fight.

Arum can’t control the pandemic, which he hopes will be taken care of by the spring of next year.

“We heard from them as of last week. They said if Terence is successful in that fight, we want to do it in the spring, either before or after Ramadan. It’s on the boards, but I can’t control the pandemic,” said Bob Arum to IFL TV on a fight between Pacquiao and Crawford.

“I really believe there will be a vaccine by then. So I’m optimistic, but do I know for sure? No,” said Arum.

Bob Arum is in a position where he has to publicly show that he’s trying to set Crawford up against boxing’s biggest names at 147. But he’s got to know that his chances of getting Pacquiao to fight Crawford aren’t good.

Pacquiao isn’t going to take a fight against Crawford in the spring, winter, or fall in 2021, because he’s got other fights available to him with the PBC welterweights. Also, Pacquiao wants to fight Mikey Garcia, and that’s a nice payday for him.

Image: Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence = The best fight in boxing

It’s kind of sad to see Crawford still wanting to fight Pacquiao despite him being old and not really active lately. Pacquiao hasn’t fought since July of last year in 2019.