By Chris Williams: Roy Jones Jr says the July 29th welterweight match-up could come down to whether Terence Crawford can take the punch from Errol Spence Jr. If WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) can’t handle IBF/WBA/WBC champ Spence’s power, he’s going to have problems in their fight.
Jones Jr says Crawford has to be smart, change it up on Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), and try to hurt him early with something. Crawford is the one that is more likely to be hurt early, not Spence, because he’s already been put down before by a lesser puncher in Egidijus Kavaliauskas
The idea that Roy has is that if Crawford can sting Spence with a big shot early on in the fight, he’ll make him cautious and afraid to attack him with his high-pressure style of fighting.
Roy’s idea of Spence backing off Crawford is wishful thinking because he won’t do that if he’s hurt. The worst thing Crawford can do is hurt Spence because that might plant some ideas into Terence’s head that he can stand in front of him, and that would be playing into his hands.
If anything, Spence will want to pay Crawford back if he’s hurt and will chase him around because Nebraska has never stood his ground against a fighter with power before. Crawford moves against fighters with power, and we’ll see him moving more than ever before against Spence.
This fight could end early if Spence can hurt Crawford because he’ll bludgeon him into submission. It could end badly for Crawford if he can’t take the punch of Spence because ‘The Truth’ isn’t going to let off the hook if he gets him hurt. There will be no mercy.
Spence must pressure Crawford nonstop
“It’s a great fight for boxing and a fight that we all need to see. They’re both in their prime, old school,” said Roy Jones Jr to Fight Hub TV about the July 29th contest between welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford.
“Stylistically, Bud has the boxing skills, I think. Spence has the power & size. Whoever can go out and take advantage of their strengths will win the fight or take advantage of the other fighter’s weaknesses.
“He’s got to pressure him. To take advantage of a tricky fighter, you’ve got to keep the pressure on him,” said Roy Jr when asked what Spence must do to defeat Crawford.
Jumping on Crawford from the get-go is what Spence must do, and not him win cheap rounds by not doing anything. With Crawford, you’ve got to jump on him right away because before you know it, he’s up 6-0, and you’re in a deep hole, needing to fight desperately.
“You’ve got to box him, be smart, and you’ve got to hurt him early and keep changing up on him,” said Roy on what Crawford must do to win.
“Tank fighting Ryan Garcia made them realize that they [Spence & Crawford] have got to fight each other,” said Jones Jr. “Haney went and fought Loma, so now we’re in business. We’re going up, up and up. Hopefully, we get Wilder-Fury or Wilder-Joshua,” said Jones.
Crawford has got to get an early lead
“If the heavyweight division catches on, boxing will be in a great place,” Jones Jr said. “Terence has got to box and be smart. Errol has got to keep the pressure. Errol is a pressure fighter. Errol has got to stay clean early and make it rough late.
“Terence has got to get an early lead and hold on to it. Both guys have their strengths and weaknesses in the fight. It’s a beautiful fight, and I can’t wait to see it.
“All that helps, and he has the size, too,” said Roy about Spence having boxing skills as well as power. “It all depends on how well Terence can take his punch. If Terence can take his punch with no problem, then Terrence can make a proper assessment.
“If the punches become a problem, then that makes it a little easier for Spence. We’ll have to see what happens.
“That was a great fight for boxing. It could have been a draw, or it could have gone either way. I thought that he didn’t take the belt from the champ because the champ won the last round,” said Jones Jr about Vasyl Lomachenko failing to win the last round against the undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, which cost him the fight.
“If the rematch takes place, it’ll be a great fight to see. I don’t know what will happen, but it’ll be a great fight,” said Roy.
