By Jim Calfa: Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. predicts Errol Spence Jr. will take a “worse” beating in his rematch with Terence Crawford and that he shouldn’t take that fight for health reasons.
If Jose Sr. were Spence’s trainer, he wouldn’t be able to steer him away from taking the rematch by talking in negative what-if scenarios because he’s not wired to be receptive to that.
Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) has already decided to take the rematch with Crawford and has activated the clause in the contract. For Spence to change his mind, it would take a lot, and his pride would override his fear of a second loss.
Why Spence should take the rematch
- Opportunity to gain revenge against Crawford
- Prove his doubters wrong
- Fiancial. Errol will receive a hefty paycheck
- Position himself for a Canelo Alvarez fight.
Any one of those reasons would likely be enough for Spence to take the rematch, but the most important would be for him to avenge his loss to Crawford.
If it’s true that Spence was weight drained from trimming 40+ lbs in camp, he’ll know that and will make sure that he trains correctly for the rematch to prevent that from happening again.
Does Crawford have Spence’s number?
“I think it’ll probably be worse. I wouldn’t take that fight just for the sake of his health,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to Fighthype about the Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. rematch.
Spence could be a different animal in the rematch with Crawford and turn the tables on him. Assuming that Errol was weight-drained last time, if he gets things right in the rematch at 154, he could wear the 36-year-old Crawford down and make him look his age.
What a lot of casual boxing fans don’t realize is that it’s easy for a fighter to look great when their opponent is weight-drained and fighting at 20% capacity.
What was telling was how Spence looked far, far worse than Crawford’s recent opponents, David Avanesyan and Shawn Porter, and that wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t weight-drained because he’s better than those guys.
Spence already beat Porter, and he’d destroy Avanesyan as well. The version of Spence we saw fight Crawford would have lost to those guys.
“If it was a little closer and something happened, but Terence Crawford gave a beating,” said Jose Sr. “It’s going to be even worse, but that’s just my opinion. But go ahead and fight. If you think you can beat him, hey, go make that fight.
“Crawford has his number. That’s going to benefit Crawford also,” said Jose Sr. about the Terence vs. Spence II rematch taking place at 154. “They’re struggling to make that weight [147], both of them,” said Jose Sr.
Will Spence get it worse?
“I think both of them are going to be fresh, but I think even worse things can happen, but who knows?” said Jose Sr. about Crawford & Spence.
If Spence isn’t drained to the point of collapse, he’s got an excellent chance of beating Craawforrd and showing to the fans that what they saw last time was a mirage. Crawford was never a better fighter than him.
“We got to keep winning to get to the bigger fights,” said Jose about David Benavidez needing to keep winning to get the bigger fights at super middleweight.
“We’re focused on Boo Boo [Demetrius Andrade] right now. Let’s f**k him up, look spectacular and then go to the next one. It’s not easy to fight Boo Boo, so we’ve got to stay 100% focused.
“Don’t look past Boo Boo. We got to have a great game plan, treat him like a champion, and train like we’re fighting the best of the best at 168, and after that, we’ll see where we’re at.
“We’ll keep moving forward with the performance we put on that date. Tell him that we made this fight happen. I’m hoping he did sign because we’re waiting for him,” said Benavidez Sr.
