WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 39-0 (30) believes he is superior in every department to WBC, WBA and IBF counterpart Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-0 (22) ahead on their undisputed world title clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old three-weight world champion from Omaha, Nebraska is a slight betting favourite going in to the fight that will see the winner awarded the prestigious Ring Magazine world championship belt.
Crawford sees himself having the edge over Spence in every key metric.
“I think everything is a key point in the fight. You got my jab, you got my movement, you got my counterpunching ability, my brain and the way I think, all around,” Crawford said.
“What separates me from him is my mentality, the way I think, my ring generalship, my counter ability.
“Our styles match up really well. You have one fighter that loves to come forward and be an action-packed fighter. You have one fighter who loves to move, counter, and stand in there toe-to-toe. So it makes for a great fight.
“I’m training for everything so I don’t get caught with anything that’s unexpected so we don’t have any surprises.”
While Crawford thinks he has the edge in skills, the 33-year-old Spence of Desoto, Texas is equally adamant he has the advantage in toughness after surviving a high-speed single car accident when he was tossed from his Ferrari while not wearing a seatbelt four years ago.
“I know I can break him down, I know he’s not as durable as me,” Spence said.
But according to Crawford, it’s skills that pay the bills.
“My skill set is going to overpower anything that he brings to the table,” he said.
Spence’s trainer Derrick James sees Crawford’s main attribute as his raw athleticism, but insists this is something his boxer can overcome with his sheer physicality.
“Terence, what makes him dynamic is that he’s very elusive and he’s very—he’s able to use his arm length and distance. He’s really more athletic than he [has] boxing skills,” James said on All Access on Showtime.
“He’s very athletic, very fast, very quick-twitch muscles. That’s what it is, his athleticism.
“He’s a great threat, but you can’t judge the depth of his desire until you get in the ring because it’s like Errol’s hitting him, breaking ribs, breaking your orbital bone, you keep fighting, breaking you nose, you can’t see that from his record.
“But on paper, he is the most accomplished fighter in boxing. I think that there comes a point where someone’s breaking you, how much do you really want it? And that’s what we’ll see.”
