By Jim Calfa: Terence Crawford can’t wait to beat Errol Spence Jr this Saturday to prove all his critics wrong that have been doubting his ability to win the July 29th mega-fight.
It’s crucial to Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) that he wins because he can get the last laugh and show what he’s always known that he is a better fighter than IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs).
The 36-year-old Crawford appears to have a feeling of resentment towards the people that have been doubting his ability to defeat Spence.
The surly, aggressive attitude that Crawford has shown with the media during the build-up to his fight with Spence would be a classic sign of him having a major chip on his shoulder. It would be better if Crawford didn’t take it personally.
Will a loss ruin Crawford?
The worst thing that could happen to Crawford is for him to lose to Spence because it would confirm in the minds of fans that he was never on the level of Spence.
If the loss bothers Crawford enough, he shouldn’t take the rematch because a second defeat might affect him mentally, especially when he finally realizes he’s not good enough.
What would be troubling is if Crawford is unwilling to accept a loss and insists that he was robbed or makes injury excuses or whatever, then accept what has happened.
When a fighter has had things his own way, always winning and praised constantly, they sometimes have a difficult time coming to terms with losing.
Will this be Crawford? Hopefully not. We wouldn’t want him to make a snap judgment and retire abruptly off the back of one or two losses to Errol.
All fighters lose if they stay around long enough and face quality opposition. If they cherry-pick as Floyd Mayweaather Jr did, they can avoid losses into their old age, but it’s impossible to avoid losing if a fighter is facing the best.
Crawford not looking ahead
“Look, man, of course, whoever is victorious is going to have more leeway and more of an advantage, but like I said, I’m not worried about the rematch, I’m not worried about the contract, I’m not worried about none of that stuff because that’s done already. I’m focusing on the fight right now,” said Terence Crawford to Manouk Akopyan when asked if he’ll get a better financial deal for the rematch if he defeats IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr this Saturday night.
It would be foolhardy for Crawford to look ahead to plan his future before the Spence fight because things might not go his way. We do know that Crawford had talked of wanting to move up to 154 after he’s done with his fight or fights with Spence.
“I never worry about that. That’s out of my hands, and that’s out of my control,” said Terence on whether he’s concerned about needing a knockout to win.
“The only thing I can do is control me and control what I’m capable of doing and what I do inside the ring. Other than that, I can’t control how they ref the fight. I can’t control how the judges score a fight. That’s not something that I ever had any control over. So why think about it and worry too much now?” said Crawford.
It’s good that Crawford doesn’t insist on needing a knockout to win, as that would indicate that he feels the judges won’t give him a fair shake. That would be a sign of insecurity.
Crawford getting irritable
“I just go in there and do what I’m supposed to do, and everything else should be fine,” said Crawford. “Like I said before. I’m going to keep telling you the same thing over and over. I’m not thinking.
“I’m not worried about anybody other weight divisions other than Errol Spence Jr. at 147 right now, and that’s the fight that has got me locked in; that’s the fight that I’m worried about. I’m not thinking about anything else other than what’s in front of me,” said Crawford.
The way Crawford is easily angered suggests that he’s got some issues that are bothering him, and if he brings that to the ring with him, he could hurt his chances of beating Spence.
“It’s not Errol. It’s anybody because that’s just how I go about things. That’s how I prepare for a fight with any fighter, not just Errol Spence Jr. That’s with anybody,” said a testy-sounding Crawford when the interviewer remarked that with him facing a dangerous fighter like Spence, it’s understandable that he didn’t want to discuss future plans about possibly moving up to 154.
Terence wants to shut up doubters
“It’s been good. I can’t complain,” said Crawford when asked about him being a promotional free agent. I will consider them as partners right now, but as in what we accomplish next week, I will say we are partners in the event,” said Crawford on whether he’ll continue to work with PBC.
“Well, you just said it. You just said he was promoting my career. I’m in control of my career, so that’s the big difference right there,” said Crawford when asked what the difference is working with Al Haymon now compared to when he was promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank.
“Like I’ve been saying before. I can retire right now, and I’m considered a Hall of Famer. So that part is already, I believe, cemented and in the gravestone; I just said it would just put the icing on the cake. It would shut up the doubters.
“It would shut up the people that say negative things that don’t really know things about boxing, and I’ll just keep it moving. That’s easy. It’s the best fight in boxing in a whole decade, probably more than a decade,” said Crawford when asked why fans should watch his fight with Spence.
“You got the two best fighters fighting each other, and it’s going to be fireworks. He’s always in exciting fights. I’m always in the exciting fights, and what better to have two undefeated prime fighters fighting each other for supremacy for all the belts? So there’s going to be an action-pack fight, and it’s going to be great,” said Crawford.
