By Chris Williams: Errol Spence Jr. revealed today that he wants to begin discussions for an undisputed clash against Terence Crawford after defeating WBA 147-lb champion Yordenis Ugas on April 16th.
Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) has been spoiling for a fight against Spence for years, but he may not like what he gets if that contest happens this year. Terence is getting up there in age at 34, and Spence might not get full credit for beating him at this point.
It’ll be interesting to hear Tim Bradley try and explain away a loss for Crawford against Spence, blaming it on age rather than giving Errol credit.
We haven’t seen Crawford fight a credible in their prime opponent since he moved up to 147. That’s the reality of it.
The best guy Crawford fought was the shopworn gatekeeper Shawn Porter, but he had nothing left in the tank by that point in his career.
You can argue that Spence took the best out of Porter when he beat him in 2019, and from that point on, he was a shell of his former self.
IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) says he’ll have three belts after he beats Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs), who some boxing fans believe has improved lately.
Spence wasn’t too enthusiastic when asked today if he’s seen the improvements in Ugas’ game since his controversial 12 round split decision loss to Shawn Porter in March 2019.
Ugas, 35, has won his last four fights since that defeat and looked impressive in sending Manny Pacquiao into retirement. It’s going to be a lot harder for Ugas to dominate Spence in the way he did Pacquiao and Porter because he’s going to be on top of him, hitting him with massive shots.
Ugas has that Cuban style in which he stands on the outside, throwing one or two punches and wading in, looking to go to war. If Spence can take the fight to the inside and let his hands go, Ugas won’t last long in that type of trench warfare.
Although Pacquiao blamed his defeat on leg cramps, it didn’t matter. He was beaten to the punch all night by the talented Cuban Ugas, and he clearly lost the fight.
“I’m going out to get his belt, and then I’ll have three belts,” said Spence about Yordenis Ugas. “I’m trying to get that fight done, but the only way that fight [against Terence Crawford] can get done is if I beat Ugas.
“That’s what I’m 100% focused on for two and a half weeks until the fight. After that, we can discuss Terence Crawford.
“I think so. I feel like that would be the biggest fight in sports. It’s for the undisputed crown. I think that’s a huge fight, especially with us in our prime. I’m hoping that can happen,” said Spence about a potential undisputed 147-lb match between him and Crawford.
“I don’t have nothing to say about that. There are two and half weeks left. If he’s improved, we’ll see on April 16,” said Spence when asked for his thoughts on the improvement in Ugas’ game.
“I don’t know if he knocked Shawn Porter down or not, but it was a close fight that could have gone either way,” said Spence when asked if he thought Ugas deserved credit for a knockdown of Shawn Porter in the twelfth round of their fight in March 2019.
“I don’t know who won the fight,” Spence continued about the Porter vs. Ugas contest. “Sometimes, I’ll watch it and think Ugas won, and other times I watch it and think Shawn Porter won. It was a super close fight, so I don’t know,” said Spence.
It’s great to see Spence taking the high road in choosing not to trash Porter, especially after what he said about him on Wednesday. Porter revealed that he rates Crawford, Keith Thurman, and Ugas above Spence.
If Spence were petty, he would have let Porter have it by telling the media how bad he looked against Ugas, and he did look terrible in that fight. Chris Williams had Ugas winning 117-111.
