On June 9, 2018, Terence Crawford made his debut as a welterweight with a ninth-round stoppage of Jeff Horn. That made him a three-division champion. The pride of Omaha had won his first world title as a lightweight and had then gone on to unify the 140-pound class.
One week later, in Frisco, Texas, Errol Spence Jr made the second defense of his IBF world welterweight title with a first-round blast-out of Carlos Ocampo. Spence caved in Ocampo with a paralyzing body shot that left his Mexican adversary on the canvas for more than two minutes.
There was another welterweight of note in June of 2018. Keith Thurman also owned a world title back then. In fact, he owned two, the WBC and WBA 147-pound belts. But Thurman wasn’t talked-about much because he hadn’t fought in the previous fifteen months because of injuries that would ultimately keep him on the shelf for nearly two full years. When he was out-pointed by ancient Manny Pacquiao in July of 2019, losing a split decision that should have been unanimous, he became an after-thought. Now it was all about Crawford and Spence as to who was the top dog in the welterweight division. Keith Thurman was out of the conversation.
Since those consecutive Saturdays in June of 2018, Crawford and Spence have embossed their credentials. Terence Crawford has successfully defended his WBO diadem six times, winning all six inside the distance to advance his record to 39-0 (30 KOs). Errol Spence Jr (28-0, 22 KOs) has won four, the last two after escaping with non-life-threatening injuries in a horrific car accident. In the process, Spence captured the two pieces of the welterweight title once held by Keith Thurman, giving Terence Crawford an opportunity to become a four-belt title-holder twice over.
Something more than welterweight supremacy as now at stake in Saturday’s SHOWTIME showdown in Las Vegas. Both fighters at various times have been hailed as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter by various entities and now that canonization will be sorted out (albeit the shadow of Naoya Inoue looms large).
Whenever a fight of this magnitude comes down the pike – assuming the odds aren’t lopsided – it is our custom to reach out to our ensemble of fine writers to get their thoughts. A special thanks to our contributors who are listed alphabetically.
Predictions
MATT ANDRZEJEWSKI -- Super fights sometimes turn into high stakes chess matches. We saw that for example eight years ago with Mayweather and Pacquiao. I think we see another chess match between Spence and Crawford. In my opinion Crawford has the speed advantage and the better footwork. He also has a very high ring IQ and tends to take his time dissecting his opponents before exploiting their vulnerabilities. My prediction is Crawford drops the first two rounds with almost no activity and then sweeps the next ten to win by 118-110 on all three judges’ cards.
RICK ASSAD -- It’s the most anticipated fight since 2015 when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr met at the MGM Grand. Both were past their primes and that fight was nothing more than a dance, but that won’t be the case for Crawford and Spence who are both still at the top of their games. My heart says Spence who is slightly bigger, slightly taller and, at age 33, the younger man by two years, but my more logical head says Crawford, an updated version of the grandmaster, Mayweather. I see Crawford triumphing on a close, split decision.
LUIS CORTES -- Crawford's athleticism or Spence's methodical approach? In a 50/50 fight like this, is there really a wrong preference? Like most, I've been going back and forth. While I believe Crawford will have plenty of success using his switch- hitting style to create angles that will punish Spence at times, ultimately I like Spence's jab and the way he sticks it in his opponents face and chest to offset their offense before they can truly utilize it. Spence will add a body attack to the jab in the middle rounds that will slow Crawford down and allow Spence to seize control in the championship rounds. I'm going with Spence by majority decision.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ -- Welterweight "superfights" sometimes turn out to be less than super. Leonard-Hearns I met all expectations, and then some, but De La Hoya-Trinidad and Mayweather-Pacquiao, although much-hyped, delivered less actual bang for all those bucks. Now we have Crawford-Spence, and I'm daring to believe that we can relive at least some of those Sugar Ray-Hitman memories. Each man has something to prove, and will try to do just that. Spence has his moments, to be sure, but ultimately my instinct tells me to call it Crawford by eighth-round stoppage.
JEFFREY FREEMAN -- Want the truth? Errol Spence Jr. is the best welterweight in the world not named Terence Crawford. This truth will be made all the more clear when Crawford takes the best of Spence’s early power before taking control of the fight, outclassing (and at time’s embarrassing) Spence to score a well-deserved unanimous decision. If the knockout comes, Crawford grabs it in the championship rounds when Spence is all but totally spent.
THOMAS HAUSER -- It's a fascinating fight. But it might not be an entertaining one. Crawford has gotten more aggressive as a fighter in recent years but Spence has gotten more cautious. I expect a tactically-fought bout with Crawford deserving the decision.
ARNE LANG -- In my mind, Errol Spence’s best win was his 12-round shutout over Mikey Garcia in 2019. But Mikey was jumping up two weight classes and Spence’s career hadn’t yet been stalled by the injuries he suffered when he totaled his Ferrari. His two victories since that mishap lacked the wow factor. This is a toughie for me but the ambidextrous Crawford has more dimensions to his game and I visualize the Nebraskan cranking up the heat after a slow start to win a unanimous decision.
MATT McGRAIN -- I see Crawford hurting Spence early and Crawford taking control of the fight late. Spence will be good enough to stick in but will drop an uncontroversial decision.
One week later, in Frisco, Texas, Errol Spence Jr made the second defense of his IBF world welterweight title with a first-round blast-out of Carlos Ocampo. Spence caved in Ocampo with a paralyzing body shot that left his Mexican adversary on the canvas for more than two minutes.
There was another welterweight of note in June of 2018. Keith Thurman also owned a world title back then. In fact, he owned two, the WBC and WBA 147-pound belts. But Thurman wasn’t talked-about much because he hadn’t fought in the previous fifteen months because of injuries that would ultimately keep him on the shelf for nearly two full years. When he was out-pointed by ancient Manny Pacquiao in July of 2019, losing a split decision that should have been unanimous, he became an after-thought. Now it was all about Crawford and Spence as to who was the top dog in the welterweight division. Keith Thurman was out of the conversation.
Since those consecutive Saturdays in June of 2018, Crawford and Spence have embossed their credentials. Terence Crawford has successfully defended his WBO diadem six times, winning all six inside the distance to advance his record to 39-0 (30 KOs). Errol Spence Jr (28-0, 22 KOs) has won four, the last two after escaping with non-life-threatening injuries in a horrific car accident. In the process, Spence captured the two pieces of the welterweight title once held by Keith Thurman, giving Terence Crawford an opportunity to become a four-belt title-holder twice over.
Something more than welterweight supremacy as now at stake in Saturday’s SHOWTIME showdown in Las Vegas. Both fighters at various times have been hailed as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter by various entities and now that canonization will be sorted out (albeit the shadow of Naoya Inoue looms large).
Whenever a fight of this magnitude comes down the pike – assuming the odds aren’t lopsided – it is our custom to reach out to our ensemble of fine writers to get their thoughts. A special thanks to our contributors who are listed alphabetically.
Predictions
MATT ANDRZEJEWSKI -- Super fights sometimes turn into high stakes chess matches. We saw that for example eight years ago with Mayweather and Pacquiao. I think we see another chess match between Spence and Crawford. In my opinion Crawford has the speed advantage and the better footwork. He also has a very high ring IQ and tends to take his time dissecting his opponents before exploiting their vulnerabilities. My prediction is Crawford drops the first two rounds with almost no activity and then sweeps the next ten to win by 118-110 on all three judges’ cards.
RICK ASSAD -- It’s the most anticipated fight since 2015 when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr met at the MGM Grand. Both were past their primes and that fight was nothing more than a dance, but that won’t be the case for Crawford and Spence who are both still at the top of their games. My heart says Spence who is slightly bigger, slightly taller and, at age 33, the younger man by two years, but my more logical head says Crawford, an updated version of the grandmaster, Mayweather. I see Crawford triumphing on a close, split decision.
LUIS CORTES -- Crawford's athleticism or Spence's methodical approach? In a 50/50 fight like this, is there really a wrong preference? Like most, I've been going back and forth. While I believe Crawford will have plenty of success using his switch- hitting style to create angles that will punish Spence at times, ultimately I like Spence's jab and the way he sticks it in his opponents face and chest to offset their offense before they can truly utilize it. Spence will add a body attack to the jab in the middle rounds that will slow Crawford down and allow Spence to seize control in the championship rounds. I'm going with Spence by majority decision.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ -- Welterweight "superfights" sometimes turn out to be less than super. Leonard-Hearns I met all expectations, and then some, but De La Hoya-Trinidad and Mayweather-Pacquiao, although much-hyped, delivered less actual bang for all those bucks. Now we have Crawford-Spence, and I'm daring to believe that we can relive at least some of those Sugar Ray-Hitman memories. Each man has something to prove, and will try to do just that. Spence has his moments, to be sure, but ultimately my instinct tells me to call it Crawford by eighth-round stoppage.
JEFFREY FREEMAN -- Want the truth? Errol Spence Jr. is the best welterweight in the world not named Terence Crawford. This truth will be made all the more clear when Crawford takes the best of Spence’s early power before taking control of the fight, outclassing (and at time’s embarrassing) Spence to score a well-deserved unanimous decision. If the knockout comes, Crawford grabs it in the championship rounds when Spence is all but totally spent.
THOMAS HAUSER -- It's a fascinating fight. But it might not be an entertaining one. Crawford has gotten more aggressive as a fighter in recent years but Spence has gotten more cautious. I expect a tactically-fought bout with Crawford deserving the decision.
ARNE LANG -- In my mind, Errol Spence’s best win was his 12-round shutout over Mikey Garcia in 2019. But Mikey was jumping up two weight classes and Spence’s career hadn’t yet been stalled by the injuries he suffered when he totaled his Ferrari. His two victories since that mishap lacked the wow factor. This is a toughie for me but the ambidextrous Crawford has more dimensions to his game and I visualize the Nebraskan cranking up the heat after a slow start to win a unanimous decision.
MATT McGRAIN -- I see Crawford hurting Spence early and Crawford taking control of the fight late. Spence will be good enough to stick in but will drop an uncontroversial decision.
