By Allan Fox: Errol ‘The Big Fish’ Spence Jr says he’s ready to put Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford “in the dirt” on Saturday night to ‘Crawfish Boil‘ at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for their $84.99 event on Showtime PPV.
Spence intends on pressuring Crawford out, wearing him down round after round like the slow drip of water on a stone until he eventually breaks in the later rounds, if not sooner.
Given the level of opposition that Crawford has fought during his long pro career, it makes it difficult to predict how well he’ll do against an elite-level fighter like Spence.
Terence’s opposition has been godawful his entire career, and it’s troubling that a fighter wins three-division world titles without fighting anybody.
It’s similar to how Adrien Broner was well-managed in his career, guided to four division world titles, but never beating anyone good.
Is Crawford a manufactured star?
We’ve seen many times throughout the history of boxing where a fighter has intentionally been matched against weak opposition by their promoters to manufacture a star, but they finally put them in against talented opposition, they crumble like a cookie. Will this be Crawford’s fate against Spence?
Errol feels that Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) has been spoiling for a fight all these years, so he’s giving him what he’s asked for and making him sorry he ever wanted this match.
IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) wants to relieve Crawford of the heavy burden of holding onto the WBO belt, which some believe he’s only been able to do because he’s stayed clear of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who has been quite vocal about wanting Terence’s scalp to add to his collection.
For Spence, it’ll be a catch & release fishing type deal in which he’ll defeat Crawford to capture his WBO belt and then vacate to move up to 154 to become undisputed in that weight class as well.
Ariel Helwani: “Errol, it got a little contentious there, not between you and Bud, but between everyone else. What was your take on what happened?”
Errol Spence Jr: “It’s pumped up. My coach [Derrick James] is amped-up, and he’s ready to go. He’s been with me since day one,” said Errol Spence Jr to TNT Sports Boxing about his fight with Terence Crawford on Saturday night. “His coach [Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre] has been with him since day one.
Ariel Helwani: “You mentioned the tension. How are you so cool, calm & collected? It’s the biggest fight of our life; you’ve been thinking about it for so long, yet it seems like you’re going to go walk in the park,” said Helwani to Spence.
Errol to put Crawford “in the dirt”
Spence: “There’s a lot of tension right now, and it came out a little bit during the press conference. I’m definitely going to release mine come fight night.
“This is what I do. It’s a way of life for me. It’s me, naturally. That’s the way I am. I’m a calm, collected person. I’m not going to try too hard to be something that I’m not. Terence Crawford he’s arguing with people in the crowd and getting into it.
“I’m just chilling. I’m not getting into all of that. It’s me versus him. It’s not me versus them [the crowd]. I don’t get paid to fight them. I get paid to fight him. So I’m trying to knock his head off,” said Spence about his focus on his fight with Crawford.
Helwani: “It’s well-documented that you’ve been through a lot since 2019. Yesterday, you Tweeted something to the effect of how grateful you are to be here.
“I’m just wondering what prompted you at that moment to do that. Did you take a chance to sit back and say, ‘I’ve overcome a lot, I’ve dodged a lot over the last few years? I need to be thankful and grateful for where I’m at here?”
Spence: “I hope I dodged some stuff, but I didn’t really dodge it. It kind of got me. I was just sitting in my bed, thinking about the stuff that I’ve been through and just having gratitude that I am where I am today because a lot of people that went through those events wouldn’t be at the top level of the sports.
“They might still be doing the sport, but they wouldn’t be at the top level, performing at the top level. That’s what I’m doing and I feel grateful that I can do that and I can still provide for my family.”
Helwani: “Official prediction?”
Spence: “Man down. I’m about to put him in the dirt.”
