By Allan Fox: Former 154-lb champion Austin Trout says he sees WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford breaking down IBF/WBA/WBC champ Errol Spence Jr and beating him by a twelve round decision on July 29th if he can make it through the early rounds.
The question that Trout has about Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) is whether he can make it out of the early rounds against the powerful Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) because he gets hit a lot in the beginning portions of his fights before he figures out his opponents.
What Trout didn’t touch on is the opposition or lack thereof for Crawford. While it’s easy to be high on a fighter that has knocked out everyone since moving up to 147 in 2018, the fact is, the guys that Crawford has beaten would be knocked out by other welterweights.
Crawford’s resume is one of the weakest, on par with former four-division world champion Adrien Broner, a fighter that glided through weight classes, winning titles against flawed opposition, taking advantaage of skillful match-making.
Terence has taken advantage of being well-matched during his career by his former promoters at Top Rank, who is the best in the business at building up their fighters. Edgar Berlanga is an example of the fine work Top Rank did, taking a flawed fighter and making him look like a killer.
Crawford is another example. Who wouldn’t want to be made to look like a star with the help of careful match-making?
Is Crawford overrated?
You can argue that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Roiman Villa, two highly-ranked welterweights, would destroy every one of the same guys that Crawford has beaten at 147. You could also say they would have knocked out everyone that Crawford fought at 140 & 135.
So what doe that tell you? Would Ennis & Villa be favored if they fought Spence? If not, why not? If they’re good enough to beat everyone that Crawford has ever fought in the pro ranks, why wouldn’t they be the favorite against Spence?
Crawford’d opposition at welterweight:
- Kell Brook
- Amir Khan
- Jeff Horn
- Shawn Porter
- Jose Benavidez Jr
- David Avanesyn
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Half of those guys were Euro-level welterweights, not top-tier contenders. The only decent one of the bunch was Shawn Porter, and he was done as a fighter by the time Crawford fought him.
“They talk about Spence being basic. Some of the best fighters in the game were basic. I got Crawford’s winning. There’s a lot of aspects to his game,” said Austin Trout to Fighthype.
Can Crawford have success against an A-level fighter like Spence? We know Terrence can beat lesser fighters at 147, like Khan, Avanesyan, Brook, and Horn, but it’s a different ball game when you step up to the big leagues against Spencee or Boots Ennis.
“He does get hit a lot in the beginning, but if he could take it, I think he’s going to break Spence down. He’s going to figure him out and take him back. If he can’t take it, it’s over, it’s a wrap. It’s going to be an early night.
“Nah, I don’t think so. Have you ever seen Spence hurt before?” said Trout when asked if Crawford could knock out Errol. “Ugas is a big, strong guy, too, but I don’t think Crawford would stop him. I don’t see that happening necessarily, but I do see him breaking him down.
“When is Crawford not stopping somebody? It’s a great fight. It’s really a flip of the coin for me, to be honest. It’s 50-50. I’m not sold on the Crawford prediction. I just know that Crawford is strong too.
Spence’s strength will be a factor
“If we’re looking at Spence’s strength is going to be the deciding factor. I wouldn’t count on that because Crawford’s strong too. He be wrestling heavyweights, folding them up. He’s body strong.
“So, it’s a flip, man. They’re both going to try and break each other down. I just can’t wait. I’m excited.
“If he does do that to Spence, yeah, absolutely, because Spence can do that too. Spence could probably take those belts from [Jermell] Charlo. Not easily, but it’s possible. It’s definitely. Spence is a big 147, too.” said Trout when asked if Crawford can move up to 154 and dethrone undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo if he successfully beats Spence on July 29th.
