By Brian Webber: Errol Spence Jr says he’s going to be putting Terence Crawford under unrelenting pressure “24/7,” slowly breaking him down, destroying his will until he wilts before him, bowing to his conqueror on July 29th on Showtime PPV.
Like many unbeaten fighters, Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) sees himself as unbeatable and capable of doing the same thing to IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) that he’s done many times before.
Spence-Crawford is a throwback-type fight reminiscent of the first contest between knockout artist Julian Jackson and Gerald McClellan in May 1993.
Two big punchers at the top of their games and someone likely suffering a knockout loss. Will it be the largely still untested Crawford or Spence?
What boxing fans don’t want to see is Crawford on his bike, moving around, staying on the outside most of the night against Spence, like we saw in the Nebraska native’s fights with Felix Diaz, Ray Beltran, Viktor Postol, John Molina and Ricky Burns.
If Spence wants to wear Crawford down, he’s likely going to need to do a lot of pursuing him because he’s not the type to stand in the pocket & slug with him.
Crawford knows he’s not built for that type of fighting, so he’ll move and make Spence chase him and look to walk him onto shots. That’s how Crawford fights. He only stays in the pocket against guys he knows are no threat to him.
Spence ready to walk Crawford down
“If I have to step to him, you know I’m going to step to him. I feel like he’s going to wilt before me. I’m going to be in his face 24/7,” said Spence to the Pivot Podcast Youtube channel, talking about his fight with Crawford.
“I know the body can only take so much before it breaks down. So if I keep chopping, it’s like a drop of water hitting a brick. After a while, that water is going to start chipping at that brick and get through,” said Spence.
For Spence to wear Crawford down like he’s talking about, he’ll need to box him as well because Terence is going to hit & move. His trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, knows he’s not well-suited to fighting a rugged guy like Spence in the trenches all night for twelve rounds.
Bomac is going to have Crawford looking to win rounds by jabbing and landing a small number of eye-catching shots that impresses the judges.
He obviously knows that Crawford isn’t a big enough puncher to knockout Spencee, and he also understands the huge risk that would be involved if he tried to get a KO.
It wouldn’t be an easy knockout like when Crawford stopped the past his best Kell Brook with a jab. To try and knockout Spence, Crawford would need to stay in the pocket, which would be bad for his health.
“So, I just keep coming at them, coming at them, and keep touching them,” said Spence. “I don’t throw a of punches. I just keep touching you. A lot of times, it’s not even hard loading up shots. I’m just touching you and basically making your mind overthink. Your mind is going into overload,” said Spence.
Will Crawford fight or box?
“It’s like nonchalent. I’m going to keep coming. I just keep coming until they wilt. The body & the mind can only take so much punishment,” said Spence.
Hopefully, Crawford stands and fights on July 29th because the boxing fans that are paying $84.99 don’t want to see a boring fight like when they wasted their money on the disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight in 2015.
Like the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Spence vs. Crawford has been slowly building for the last six years, and fans want to see action, not a tactical boxing match.
“He’s talented, but with me, I showed that I can stay in the pocket, box, and I’ve shown that I can rough it up,” said Spence. “I’ve shown thaat I can hit and use speed, and I’ve shown a lot of things.
“People say his [Crawford] boxing IQ is better because he’s a boxer. What kind of IQ does that take to be in the pocket with somebody and not get hit and not get battered & beaten up like I’m beating somebody up? Why am I not getting punished the same way?” said Spence.
