Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford believes he’s levels above Errol Spence

By Boxing News - 10/14/2021 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford thinks he’s levels above IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. because he’s captured world titles in three divisions rather than just one.

WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) says he’s tired of boxing fans comparing him to Spence (27-0, 21 KOs), considering he doesn’t view him as being on the same level due to him having done more with division titles.

The pre-car crash and eye injury version of Spence would likely have been favored over Crawford. Unfortunately, Spence may not ever be the fighter he was before those two problems happened with him.

Crawford rates himself above Spence

In Spence’s only fight since his terrible car crash on October 10, 2019, he looked like the shell of his former self in laboring to a grueling 12 round unanimous decision win over Danny Garcia last December.

People have to compare them because Crawford has never fought anyone good during his career, and he’s badly trailing Spence as far as quality wins.

Image: Terence 'Bud' Crawford believes he's levels above Errol Spence

Crawford is an example of what a fighter can do when being moved skillfully by a good promoter. Bud’s promoters at Top Rank have maneuvered him around to win three division titles by beating these fighters:

  • Jeff Horn – WBO 147-lbs
  • Julius Indongo – IBF/WBA 140-lbs
  • Thomas Dulorme – WBO 140-lbs
  • Viktor Postol – WBC 140-lbs
  • Ricky Burns – WBO 135-lbs

Those are fighters that Shawn Porter, Errol Spence Jr., or any quality fighter from 135 to 147 would beat. For example, you could take WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and match him against all five of those fighters, and he would likely beat them more impressively than the counter-punching, switch-hitting Crawford did.

 

If Crawford loses his fight with Shawn Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs), there will be many boxing fans that will rate Spence ahead of him. Crawford will be defending his WBO 147-lb title against Porter on November 20 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

It’s questionable whether Spence can still beat Porter now, but he the job two years ago before his car crash. That was a hard fight for Spence, but he did what he had to do in beating Porter at his own game.

Herring talks Crawford vs. Porter

“Crawford-Porter, those are my boys,” said Jamel Herring to Fighthype. “Shout out to my man EJ [Errol Spence]. I hope you’re healing up well, Errol.

“The Errol Spence fight [with Porter] was an entertaining a** fight. I know Shawn is hard to put down. He always gets caught when he gets too aggressive.

“In the 11th round with Errol, he got too aggressive, and he got caught. That’s when counter-punching gets the best of him, even with the Bud fight coming up.

“When he gets too excited and too aggressive, he opens himself up. I can’t say if it’s going to be more clean-cut or not. I just feel like Bud has more tools in the arsenal and less wear on his body as well,” said Herring.

“I think Shawn Porter’s best asset is being the dog to come and get you. I think people argue with the [Yordenis] Ugas fight.

“People feel like Ugas might have won that fight because Shawn was doing too much boxing instead of going and getting him.

“I like when Shawn is mixing it up evenly, though. The Danny Garcia fight. He showed a little bit of aggression, and he boxed at times.

“But when he’s playing it a little bit too safe…During the Ugas fight, he had weight issues, and he probably didn’t have the legs to keep pushing.

“When he has that dog in him, he can make it uncomfortable for anyone in there, and that’s what I like about Shawn.

“With Bud, he’s basically preparing for everything. He’s preparing for the boxer; he’s preparing for the brawler.

“He’s motivated, and he’s hungry, and he knows this is finally the big welterweight fight that everyone has been criticizing him for not having.

“Bud is one of the most elusive and dangerous counter punchers. He’s got power in both hands. It’s not just a thing where he turns conventional southpaw.

“He really has powerful hands. I said, ‘Bro, are you left-handed or right-handed because you showed scary power in each hand.  But he’s very elusive when he wants to be, or he can be aggressive as well.

“Final prediction. I got to go with my man, Terence Crawford, of course,”  said Herring in picking Crawford to beat Porter.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be a walk in the park because it’s Shawn Porter. He never brings a dull fight ever. With tools in the bag, Terence has a lot of tools,” said Herring.

If Porter can smother Crawford’s offense by staying inside, we could see an upset on November 20. Porter can’t afford to fight timidly as he did in his match against Yordenis Ugas in 2019.

If Porter tries to box Crawford and play it safe, he’s going to get schooled. Porter doesn’t possess good enough boxing skills to outbox Crawford.

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