IBF, WBA, WBC welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. recently opened up, big time, and showed his true competitive nature ahead of his July 29 unification clash with WBO champ Terence Crawford. In an interview with The Pivot Podcast, the 3-belt champ let it be known that, in his mind, he’s THE man coming into the upcoming big ticket battle.
“I’m the guy for sure, but he didn’t wanna believe that I was the A-side,” Spence said. “When you talk about putting butts in the seats, I’m him. He didn’t wanna believe that. His accolades are cool, but take them to the bank and see what you get for them. He didn’t wanna understand that.
“The first time we Facetimed, it was mostly feeling each other out. Just talking about family and life and different things. We only talked about the fight for like five or 10 minutes. The next time we were on Facetime he started telling me what he was concerned about and what he wanted. It made sense to me…I feel like I really got this fight made, because there were things he was asking for that my team thought I wouldn’t do. We’re talking about percentages and stuff like that. But I was like yeah, give him that. This is the fight I wanted. Period. I can’t leave this division without fighting him. This is one of the legendary fights.”
“We bring greatness out of each other,” added Spence. “That’s just what it is. If I truly feel like someone isn’t on my level, I’m super dismissive of that person…With Crawford, there’s more excitement. He’s bringing something. When you talk about two fighters and their mentalities and how they are, our mentalities are to kill. I just feel like we’re meant to clash. I wasn’t gonna let this fight go away because of ego or pride.”
Spence also feels that this high risk/high reward bout may light a fire under other fighters and inspire more of these big-time battles.
“I hope this fight lights a fire in other people to make these big fights happen,” Spence said. “And I want the public to buy the pay-per-view so that it shows fighters that there is reward in taking risks. With fan support, you’re gonna get more big fights. If the numbers are right, these fights will get made.”
The Desoto, Texas native would then clearly state his belief that he is THE man coming into this unification clash with Crawford.
“I feel like I’m an apex predator,” Spence said. “I could be in my locker room on fight night with my opponent, chilling and playing dominos, but they say it’s fight time and we get in that ring, I don’t know you. I’m coming to decapitate you. I don’t know where it comes from. It’s an ‘it factor’ that makes some people great, some good and some okay. Not everyone has the same instinct as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier…You could be my best friend, but when we’re in the ring, it doesn’t matter.
“When you’re breaking someone down, there’s a point where you’ll just see a certain look on their face in the middle of a round that lets you know. That’s even more satisfying than knocking someone down. If you punish someone and keep beating on them, it gets to a point where they might not come back into the ring the same.”
When it comes to this particular fight, Spence feels that it will be more than enough to just be himself.
“I just have to be myself and listen to my coach,” said Spence. “A lot of guys when they get into big fights, they get out of character. They want to show a different style. But I’m gonna do what I’ve been doing. Nobody has stopped it yet. If I have to step to him, you know I’m gonna step to him. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win. I feel like he’s gonna wilt to me. I’m gonna be in his face 24/7. He’s a predator too, but I’m different. I’m a bigger predator.”
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford will take place July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be aired live on Showtime PPV.
