Crawford, Spence eager for unbeaten welterweight matchup in Las Vegas
BEVERLY HILLS — There wasn’t a dull moment during Errol Spence Jr. and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford’s pre-fight press conference Tuesday inside the Crystal Ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
From the trash talk to the intense face-offs, both fighters had one goal in mind: becoming the undisputed welterweight champion of the world come fight night.
This fight, scheduled for July 29 in Las Vegas, has been talked about since Crawford entered the division in 2018 and it has finally come to fruition.
“I’m excited that we got this fight done,” Crawford said. “I’m going to gift y’all the presence of myself and Errol July 29, so y’all can witness greatness.”
Both fighters are undefeated going into this bout with Spence at 28-0 (22 knockouts) and Crawford at 39-0 (30 knockouts).
Spence currently holds the Welterweight WBO, WBC and IBF titles. Crawford is the current WBA Welterweight champion.
Spence is coming off a long layoff, having last fought in April 2022 when he got a TKO win over Yordenis Ugás.
He said the gap between his last fight does not concern him going into the bout with Crawford.
“I’ve been out longer,” Spence said. “It was nothing I was recovering from, so that means more rest anyway.”
In October 2019, Spence was involved in a car crash and charged with a DWI in his hometown of Dallas and didn’t fight for 15 months following the crash.
Crawford most recently fought in December, knocking out Russian boxer David Avanesyan in the sixth round.
The fighter out of Nebraska has finished his last 10 opponents, solidifying himself as one of the division’s hardest hitters. He said that a win over Spence would prove his dominance in the sport.
“No man has captured undisputed in two different weight classes,” Crawford said. “I will be the first male boxer to capture undisputed in two different divisions. That would solidify me as the greatest fighter of this era.”
During Tuesday’s press conference, Spence was critical of Crawford’s resume, saying he did not think Crawford has fought the best fighters in the division.
“I’m not gonna lie, Top Rank got the best matchmakers in the business, but you (Crawford) haven’t fought nobody,” Spence said. “You haven’t beat anybody. Who have you fought at 135 and who have you fought at 147?”
Crawford responded by criticizing Spence’s performance against Shawn Porter. Crawford TKO’d Porter in 2021 while Spence escaped with a close split decision back in 2019.
A common thread between both fight camps is that they both feel like they have something to prove on fight night.
“I want to spank that side over there,” said Crawford’s head trainer, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, referring to Spence’s team and PBC Promotions. “They looking at us like we the B-side. That’s alright, that’s what we want.”
“I’m tired of talking about it, I’m tired of getting asked questions about it,” said Spence’s head trainer, Derrick James. “My guy (Spence) did what he’s supposed to do, getting three belts. Now, it’s time to get one more.”
Spence will go into this fight as the younger fighter at 33, and will have a two-inch height advantage. Crawford, 35, has a two-inch reach advantage while having more experience in the ring as he has been in 82 more rounds than Spence.