By Robert Segal: Welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr & Terence Crawford both successfully weighed in today during Friday’s weigh-in for their long-awaited mega-fight on Showtime PPV.
Below are the weights:
– Errol Spence – 147 lbs
– Terence Crawford – 146.8 lbs
Spence (28-0, 22 KO) will have his IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight titles on the line, while Crawford will haavee his WBO belt.
Yesterday, both fighters looked worn down from taking off weight to get down to the 147-lb limit for today’s weigh-in, and it won’t be a surprise if they rehydrate up to 170+ lbs, making them light heavyweights.
Crawford was in a sour mood, making the final press conference less than pleasant to watch at times. He reminded this writer of an angry J.P. Morgan.
That’s how it is in boxing since they did away with fight-day weigh-ins. If they returned to that practice or, more importantly, had strict 10-lb rehydration limits that fighters had to adhere to, they would be forced to compete in weight divisions that are more fitting to their body frame.
The way fighters do it now, they game the system by draining down to make weight for divisions that are well below their size so that they can gain an advantage.
This favors younger fighters because they can take off weight more easily than older fighters without being weakened.
“Some people rate him as the best welterweight. I got three belts, and he’s got one belt, and they still rank him higher in the pound-for-pound rankings, even though I fought the better competition,” said Errol Spence Jr. to Stephen A. Smith’s Youtube channel.
So it’s certain things like that and just how long it took to get this fight made. I want to show that I’m not only the best fighter in the world, but I’m the best fighter in the world, period,” said Spence.
“I definitely feel like this is the modern-day version of those fights. The Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, and the Four Kings era. You look at his mentality and my mentality. We’ve got the same mentality as the old school fighters.
“We don’t back down. If I push him, he’s going to push me harder. So, I think it’s going to be a recipe for a great fight, just our mentality and our ability. If it comes, I’m definitely going to try to,” said Spence when asked if he was going to knock out Crawford.
“I’m already super active [with punch output], so I’m not going to say more active, but a bit more precise and constant with my defense. Not looking out and doing something crazy like I did in the Ugas fight where I looked off and got hit with a shot because my mouthpiece was down, and I was trying to pick it up,” said Spence.
