By Brian Webber: Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford says he can’t wait to add Errol Spence Jr’s name to his resume in the win column on July 29th. Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) has looked forward to adding Spence’s name for years, and now he’s just ten days away from their event contest on Showtime PPV.
Crawford didn’t look happy today during the media event, and he seemed testy at times, snapping at the reporters in being asked questions that he’d been asked before.
He wasn’t in the mood to joke, be pleasant or keep it light. Crawford looked tired & irritable, showing his advancing age. The only thing that was missing from Crawford today was a wooden cane and an old rocking chair.
He was treating it like an ordeal that he had to put up with rather than his job of selling the fight to boxing fans sitting on the fence, wondering whether it was worth it or not to purchase the Spence-Crawford event for $84.99 on pay-per-view.
The nerves might be starting to get to Crawford because he now realizes he’s not fighting low-level guys like David Avanesyan, Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Jeff Horn, and a washed Shawn Porter.
On paper, WBO welterweight champion Crawford is the toughest fight of Spence’s 11-year pro career, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be the toughest test. Spence has been in some wars against prime Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, and Yordenis Ugas.
If there’s a knockout in Spence vs. Crawford, it would be huge, as both of these guys have never been close to being stopped before during their long careers.
“I’m always focused for any fighter, and this is no different for any other opponent I’ve faced in the past,” said Terence Crawford to Premier Boxing Champions on his fight with Errol Spence Jr in 10 days from now.
“I’m amped up about the fight, but at the same time, my focus is at the same level. I’m always extremely focused on the job at hand, and I’m not going to say I’m more focused on this fight than I have on any other fight because I would be lying to you.
“Of course, y’all keep asking me the same questions. Of course, this fight is very important for my legacy and very important for me personally. Come next week on the 29th; it’s going to be a sweet moment to actually get Errol Spence on my record.
“We feed tremendously off each other’s energy,” said Crawford about Steve Nelson. “We pick each other up when we’re down, and we hold each other accountable. When he’s tired, I push him. When I’m tired, he pushes me. We train together, we work together, and we spar together. That’s my brother.
“Let them be a part of it. This is a fight where each and every one of them has been waiting for,” said Crawford about his hometown fan in Omaha, Nebraska.
“They’re just as excited as anyone else, and why not have that moment with Terence Crawford, Steven Nelson, and Kevin Vitore as we prepare to represent them and our city in a fight like this of this magnitude?
“I’m expecting a 110% ready, sharp Errol Spence Jr,” said Crawford when asked what he expects from Spence on July 29th. “He’s going to be ready and determined for everything. That’s what I expect.
“Like I said before. He’s going to have to show me. Fireworks. It’s going to be a very exciting fight, it’s going to be great for boxing, and I look forward to becoming the first male boxer, two-time undisputed champion of the world.
“I really ain’t got nothing to tell him. I’ll see him on fight night,” said Crawford when asked if he had a message to send to Spence.
