Well-respected boxing coach Virgil Hunter has cast his learned eye over the upcoming undisputed welterweight title clash between Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 39-0 (30) and Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-0 (22) and given his keys to victory.
Texan southpaw Spence will put up his WBC, WBA and IBF titles against switch-hitter Crawford’s WBO belt at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 29.
“The fight can’t come soon enough. I’m excited, especially to get both men at their peak. Both men seem hungry and ready to go. I expect an epic night,” said Hunter, who famously guided Andre Ward to a Hall of Fame career.
“Errol has a grind-it-out, that go-get-you mentality. It doesn’t make sense to go against what works. In this fight, it’s not what I’m going to do to you. The fighter that wins will be the one who’s not going to let the other fighter do what he wants to do.
“I like Errol and the way he fights. At some point that grind out style will slow up as you age. You have to grind every single day. Errol has admitted that he has had a lifestyle that wasn’t always good. That does damage to the internal organs that is irreversible.
“Errol’s determination and drive are A-plus. Who can stop the other guy from doing what he wants to do is going to be a factor in this fight.”
The 33-year-old Spence has fought just three times in the past four years with time on the sidelines due to injury, including those sustained in a high-speed auto accident in 2019 when his car rolled and he was ejected from the vehicle.
He is coming off a dominant 10th round knockout victory over Yordenis Ugas in April last year.
Crawford, 35, has only been marginally more active than Spence, with four bouts in the past four years. His most recent outing was a sixth-round knockout of European champion David Avanesyan last December.
Hunter got the chance to get an up close look at Crawford in the gym recently and liked what he saw.
“I had the fortune to spend one day in the gym with Terence. His physical strength is underrated,” Hunter said.
“The way he is genetically built, the way he has stayed in the gym for his entire career and has never gotten out of condition, brings a snap to his punch. He has a real buggy whip snap to his punches. You can feel a snap.
“He was a wrestler early on and I’ve watched him tussle with big guys and get them down to the ground. He is built from the feet up with his physical strength. He can generate a lot of power.”
The fight is close to an even proposition with most bookmakers and Hunter agrees either man has the ability to pull of the win.
“If either fighter is down in the fight, he has the ability to come back, even the fight and take the lead,” Hunter said.
“The first four rounds are going to determine how the rest of the fight is going to go. Both men understand that they have to get the respect of the other fighter real quick.
“The key for Terence is to stop Errol from what he wants to do and hurt him. The key for Errol is to keep grinding. He is going to have his momentum accelerated and make it very difficult for Terence.”
