By Chris Williams: Teofimo Lopez thinks Terence Crawford is “chinny” and won’t go the distance against the bigger, stronger, and more experienced IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr on July 29th.
We saw Crawford get hurt by Egidijus Kavaliauskas in 2019 when he was dropped in the fifth round, and he might have been finished off in that round if ‘The Mean Machine’ had a little more ability.
Teofimo feels that Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) has more to prove in this fight than Spence because he hasn’t faced the same quality opposition as.
You can say the same thing about Crawford not fighting high-caliber guys at 140 as well. The best guys Crawford fought at 140 were Julius Indongo and Viktor Postol. Those guys aren’t in the same galaxy talent-wise as the current killers at 140:
Subriel Matias
Regis Prograis
Teofimo Lopez
Josh Taylor
Devin Haney
Gary Antuanne Russell
Richardson Hitchins
Arnold Barboza Jr
Kenneth Sims
Steve Spark
Crawford is unproven at 140 & 147, so it makes sense for Teofimo to pick Spence to win this fight.
“It’s a good question, man. I’ve been getting asked to this day, and it’s still a hard decision. Part of me sides with Spence. The only reason why is he’s good at body placements and body shots,” said Teofimo Lopez to Fight Hub TV, talking about the Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford fight.
“He’s very good and accurate with them, and he knows when to throw them. He’s a Southpaw, and he’s a little bit more tall & lanky. I think that he’ll read Crawford a bit more in the sense, and also, on top of it, he has ring generalship and the experience.
“He’s faced top-caliber fighters. He’s collected a belt from each one, and he has faced adversity. I’m not saying that Terence Crawford hasn’t shown that.
“What Crawford does is a very dangerous type of deal that you got to
deal with. He’s ambidextrous, he goes southpaw, goes orthodox, and he’s able to counter when you’re throwing midway. So it’s a great matchup, a great fight.
“Crawford’s a bit chinny, but to what extent, right? Spence is the bigger guy at 147. I think he’s a bit stronger than Crawford, but Crawford’s body has grown into that division a lot more. I just go off of the competition Spence and Crawford have gone through. I think Spence has gone through tougher competition.
“I like both fighters. I think Crawford is a tremendous athlete, a tremendous fighter. He does things in the ring that no one has really ever seen in boxing. So it’s going to be a great fight. I know for a fact though, one thing’s for sure, that that it’s not going to go the distance.
“Both those guys do have a dog in them and definitely got something to
prove. Crawford has a little bit more to prove because he’ll be supposedly, he will be the first guy to be a two-time undisputed world champion in two weight divisions with this win and also against the guy [Spence] that holds all the belts. It’s a great matchup.
“What’s going to separate is going to be conditioning and the effective amount of punches with the jab. Because Crawford likes to throw his jabs, that’s how he finds his range, and then he picks you apart.
“Spence likes to throw his jabs. That’s where he gets his range as well. So it’s who is going dominate the jab part. Whoever breaks that shell first is going to be the dictator of the winner that night.
“I got to go with Spence. I may lose my money, though,” said Teofimo when asked to pick a winner for Spence-Crawford.
