With Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford being a done deal, everybody is starting to weigh in on the long-awaited welterweight unification bout.
One of those weighing in is former WBA welterweight champ Keith Thurman, who was asked about the blockbuster pairing in a recent interview. Despite having fought only once in nearly four years, the 34-year-old is still one of the more recognizable and accomplished names in the 147 lb. division and he just be in line for a bout with the winner of Spence-Crawford.
“Spence, this might be his last hoorah because he’s going to feel like he accomplished everything,” Thurman told Fight Hub TV.
“We’ve seen both of these fighters start off slow. So we could see a bit of a chess match for three rounds and then going into the fourth round, where one of them will try and implement some dominance.
“I think it’s important for one of them to control the pace and the rhythm and sneak some punches in. So who is going to touch who first? How much of it is going to be a scoring match and how much of it is ‘I’m the bigger, badder man’ kind of event.
“They say it has the potential of being a Hagler-Hearns, and we know what that means. We don’t see that ever in boxing today because the #1 rule, the golden rule. Protect yourself at all times.
“This is the top pinnacle of boxing. We’re going to see everything. Ring generalship, great defense, and great offense, and we’re going to see which one of the two is the better man.
“It’s hard not to like Crawford. That’s something we’ve never seen Spence fight. That’s a puncher/boxer. There’s a style that Crawford & Thurman bring to the table that Spence has never had presented to him in his professional career.
“Spence may not be fancy, but he’s been holding it down, and he’s the truth. The truth is, he’s not easy to beat; he’s never been easy to beat, and no matter how much you like Crawford, it might not be an easy match. It might be the toughest match of his career.
“Spence is the biggest guy. Crawford has never been hit by a true welterweight. I know he fought Porter, but the way Porter has been fighting during his career since I knew him in the amateurs. To be a 12 round fighter, he took away the exertion of being a one-punch knockout artist.
“These are some powerful punches coming from the bigger, stronger man. I know that neither one of them have gotten their chin clipped. I’m just waiting to see who hits who first. They’re both defensive, but they’re not perfect.
“This is a game of inches. These are minute details that separate these great fighters.”
Stopping just short of picking a winner, Thurman feels that Spence-Crawford has the potential to be a chess match that eventually becomes a best vs. best shootout. That’s nothing but good news for fight fans who’ve been calling for this welterweight showdown for years now.
The 33-year-old Spence, who holds the IBF, WBA, and WBC welterweight titles, will be coming into his July 29 contest with Crawford after more than fifteen months of inactivity. In his last bout, in April of 2022, he stopped Yordenis Ugas to win the WBA welterweight title.
The 35-year-old Crawford, meanwhile, holds the WBO welterweight title and last fought in December, when he outclassed and stopped David Avanesyan in six rounds.
The fight will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and aired as a Showtime PPV event.
