Will rival welterweight kings Errol Spence and Terence Crawford get it on this year, finally, after months, actually years, of talking but not fighting? It seems as though the fight will happen this year or it will not happen at all. Spence as fans know called Crawford out after his dominant stoppage win over a previously unstopped Yordenis Ugas, with Crawford immediately responding, making it clear he wants the fight, and the belts, as much as Spence does.
It’s a massive fight, between two unbeaten champions, both of them pound-for-pound stars, with both men very possibly future all-time greats (certainly future Hall of Famers). Is Spence Vs. Crawford (who is the A-side here?) perhaps the biggest fight that can be made this year? Maybe. We could get an enormous heavyweight fight later this year – perhaps a unification clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk (we will know more on this score after Saturday night and Fury’s fight with Dillian Whyte) – and of course that would trump a Crawford-Spence showdown. And if Canelo fights Gennady Golovkin in their three-match, that fight would perhaps be seen as bigger than Crawford-Spence (not better, not at all, but perhaps as big or bigger).
But if you, fellow fight fan, could see one super fight made this year, maybe you would pick Spence Vs. Crawford. It will, if it happens – and surely it must – be special. The sheer skill on both sides would make sure of that. Both men are brilliant boxers, with speed, cunning, spite, sheer desire and utmost belief there to be marvelled over. This fight, it’s been said, could be the biggest and greatest welterweight fight since the 1981 epic between a peak Sugar Ray Leonard and a likewise Thomas Hearns.
And this is not just hype without foundation. Crawford, 38-0(29) can bring out the absolute greatness in Spence, and Spence, 28-0(22) has it in him to do the same thing to Crawford. Heck, it might take these two excellent fighters three fights to fully decide who is the better man. A trilogy would be an awesome thing to see, but for now we will settle for the opening act.
Spence Vs. Crawford, this September or October. Please.
Who wins if these two do fight this year? It’s a tougher than tough call, that’s for sure. Crawford has barely shown a single weakness during his 38 pro fights (maybe his brief wobble at the hands of the undersized Yuriorkis Gamboa way back in their 2009 fight being the one and only time “Bud” looked anywhere near vulnerable, this for a fleeting second or two). While the same can be said of Spence, although he was pushed hard by common opponent Shawn Porter, far harder than Crawford was pushed by Porter when he fought him.
Styles make fights of course, but both Spence and Crawford have the ability to switch styles and approach in each fight. This one will be a battle of brains as well as skills – to say nothing of the war of game plans that would go down.
It takes two great fighters to make a genuinely classic fight. Crawford and Spence are two such fighters and both men are still close enough to their prime right now. But the clock is ticking. This fight cannot be allowed to go the way of Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.
