By Adam Baskin: Errol Spence Jr says he hopes his fight with Terence Crawford isn’t a one-sided fight, with him washing the 36-year-old in an easy victory on July 29th.
Errol wants Crawford to make it competitive so they can entertain the many boxing fans that will be watching it live on Showtime PPV at ringside at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
All the fans that are paying $84.99 to watch Spence vs. Crawford on pay-per-view they’re going to be upset if Errol blasts through the Omaha, Nebraska native, as they’ll discredit his victory by saying that Terence was old or he had fought C-level opposition his entire career to build his 39-0 record.
“I would definitely be disappointed with one-way traffic with me washing him, but if it’s a great fight, I wouldn’t be disappointed at that either because that’s something people would talk about for decades,” said Spence during today’s media workout.
“I couldn’t tell you how the fight would play out if it happened three years ago. It would probably play out the same way it’ll play out on Saturday night.
“Every belt that I took, I took from somebody. So that’s basically it right there. I’ve beaten champion after champion after champion. I’ve not just beaten one person that had all the belts, and I’ve beaten him.
“I’m going through the wringer, beating the best guys in my division that hold belts, and I’ve beaten them. I feel like it’s a big difference when you’re facing a champion and you’re facing him then when he’s not a champion because he has more to fight for when he has a belt.
“You know how it is when your swimming. You might get tired, start sinking, and you might drown. Everybody thinks they can swim until they get in the water, and they’re trying to paddle to survive.
“I don’t know how that factor into it until we get in the ring,” said Spence on him looking bigger & stronger than Crawford. “They say he’s the guy, so we’ll definitely see next week.
“I don’t think anybody has helped me prepare for Terence Crawford just because his style is different from everybody else. It’s like when Ray Leonard fought Tommy Hearns. What fighter did he fight that prepared him for Tommy?
“I don’t think he fought anybody like Tommy until he fought Tommy, and that’s vice versa. The same thing with Ali & Joe Frazier. So, I feel like this is the first time I’ve fought somebody with this type of style like Terence Crawford has.
“I really don’t care that he’s headlining. It is what it is. People have opinions. It’s just time to prove them wrong.
“I just have to pay attention to when he switches. It’s the same thing when he’s southpaw. It’s the same thing for me when I’m fighting a southpaw or if he’s orthodox. It’s the same thing for me when I’m fighting an orthodox fighter. You just recognize when he switches.
“The biggest motivation for me is just to win. That’s the most valuable motivation. It’s to win, be successful and be undisputed and take care of my family.
“That’s the thing that’s most important [doing it for his family]. Of course, you want to win. We don’t want anybody better than us, especially another man, but to be able to take care of your family, especially for the rest of your life, to make sure they’re good when they get older. That’s a different type of thing, and a lot of people don’t focus on that.
“That’s just my opinion about this fight and future fights. After I had my crash, it made me put things in perspective. The main thing I wanted to put in perspective was to take care of my family.
“That’s what makes a great champion,” said Spence when told that Crawford thinks he can beat him in any sport. “That’s just his competitive nature, and it’s the same way with me.”