Yordenis Ugas’ trainer Ismael Salas says there’s no way Terence Crawford can defeat Errol Spence Jr. if he fights the way he did against his fighter last month in their welterweight unification clash on April 16th.
Salas believes that the version of Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) would be too much for WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) to handle.
IBF/WBA/WBC champion Spence is hoping to set up an undisputed championship fight with Crawford before he leaves the weight class to move up to 154, but it remains to be seen whether the two of them will be able to negotiate a fight.
The way that Crawford struggled to defeat the played-out Shawn Porter last November, it’s hard to see him lasting long against Spence. Crawford lacks the ruggedness that would be needed for the give & take involved in a grueling war against Spence.
If Crawford gets on his bike to try and win an ugly hit & run fight, the judges likely won’t give him the decision.
The only way Crawford can beat Spence is for him to get in the trenches and show that he can defeat him in a war. With Crawford, we don’t know how good he is because he hasn’t fought anyone good at welterweight since moving up in weight in 2018.
Porter is the best name on Crawford’s resume, but he was an inactive fighter at that point in his career, playing out his string heading towards retirement.
“That night was tough; it was hard, really hard,” said Yordenis Ugas’ trainer Ismael Salas to Fighthype about the fight with Errol Spence Jr. on April 16th.
“From the corner, I could see Spence’s punch, but it was hard, it was tough. Ugas showed that when you hit Spence, you can get hurt. But the problem is, who can hit him?
“But if Spence fights the same way he did against Ugas, no way Crawford can beat Spence.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Salas when asked if Spence could still beat Crawford even with his speed & counter-punching ability. “The version of Spence in his last fight, it’s the #1 welterweight and #1 pound-for-pound, definitely.
“One thing is sure, styles make fights,” said Salas. “We cannot say, ‘It’s an easy fight for Spence against Crawford.’ No, no, no. I think #1 Spence, #2 Crawford, and if their fight happens, it’ll be a great night for boxing fans.
“It’s the two top welterweights, and you will know who the kind of the welterweights from their fight. After the Spence that I saw against Danny Garcia is not the same Spence that I saw with Yordenis Ugas.
“Yordenis Ugas came for a real fight. [Danny] Garcia did, but he was just surviving. That’s why he didn’t get so hurt like Ugas [from his fight with Spence].
“At this level, anything can happen. So different,” said Salas about Spence looking much different against Ugas than he did against Danny Garcia.
