Is Spence too rugged for Crawford?

By Boxing News - 05/31/2023 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Terence Crawford will be dealing with arguably the best brawlers in the welterweight division in Errol Spence Jr on July 29th. It’s questionable whether the Nebraska native is built for that type of fighting.

Can Crawford stand in the pocket and take the withering artillery fire from Spence for twelve rounds without getting shelled to pieces on July 29th? Will Crawford elect to get on his bike, run and choose to just survive the twelve rounds to keep from suffering his first knockout loss?

While Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) has knocked out all seven of his opponents since moving up to the 147-lb division in 2018, but those wins have come against lesser-quality opposition, like Jeff Horn, Davis Avanesyan, Kell Brook, Amir Khan, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Whether intentional or not, Crawford hasn’t fought any good welterweights since moving to the division, and he didn’t fight anyone good at 140 or 135 either.

On July 29th, WBO belt holder Crawford who has fought only three times since 2020, is going to be stepping into the unknown by going up against the rugged battler IBF, WBA & WBC champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) for the undisputed welterweight championship on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Historically, we’ve seen what happens to fighters when after spending their entire career being fed stiffs by their promoters, they suddenly get put in with someone good, and they’re exposed to the light of day.

With Crawford, it’s been smoke & mirrors, taking advantage of the fodder-level opposition that his former promoters at Top Rank had fed him before he left them.

Spence will bring the pressure

“With Spence, he brings that pressure, and he’s constantly in your face, but with Crawford, he can crack. Crawford’s knocked out with like 10 out of his last 11 guys,” said Robert Garcia to Fighthype, talking about the Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford bout.

There’s no question that Spence will take fight to Crawford, and he looking to drag him into a war, whether he wants it or not. Running isn’t going to work for Crawford because Spence has a powerful jab that he’ll use to take the wheels away from him.

“Spence is a  great fighter, and he’s got tricks. He’s very smart in the ring. Whatever you prepare for and whatever you try, he has an answer to it. That’s why it’s not going to be easy for Crawford. It’s a 50-50 fight,” said Robert.

“I don’t know why they say that,” said Robert when told that some fans think Spence is ‘One dimensional.’  “He’s got answers to everything. If you have a fighter that pressures him,  he knows how to fight them on the outside.

“He could also fight on the inside. He could back you up. He could be tricky. He could be dirty if he has to.  He’s a solid fighter with everything. He has answers to everything. I don’t know why they say that,” said Robert.

Will there be a Spence-Crawford rematch?

“The sad thing is that we might not get a rematch or a trilogy because they’re 35, 33, so it might be a little bit too late unless they do it back to
back right away,” Robert said about the ages of Crawford & Spence.

“If they go with the rematch right away, then they could do it. They could do a rematch right away if they go into an immediate rematch, then we could have a solid trilogy if they do it right away. But if they wait a year or two, then it might be too late.

“They could have been five years ago, and they would have been a lot easier to make rematches and trilogies,” said Garcia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BZ8CzGasOs