July 29, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and broadcast on Showtime PPV, the long-awaited Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford showdown will take place. Up for grabs will be all four welterweight world titles and, also, status as the best 147-pounder of the post-Floyd Mayweather/post-Manny Pacquiao era. A case can even be made that the winner of this unification battle belongs at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.
This high-stakes battle is drawing attention from all over and both fighters seems to be at the very top of their game. Both have also been vocal about how much this clash of wills and skills means to them. Spence and Crawford recently embarked on a two-day, two-city press tour to hype the fight and both were bold in putting themselves over while burying the other.
“Y’all are going to witness greatness,” Crawford told reporters after Tuesday’s press event in Los Angeles. “We measure greatness by eras. You’ve heard of the past eras in boxing, you’ve got the Ray Robinson era, the Leonard-Hearns-Hagler-Duran era, even the Mayweather-Pacquiao era. Well, July 29, I’m going to show everyone why this era is the Terence Crawford era.
“I’m so excited that we’re here today and that we got this fight done. I’m excited for the fans. I have a gift for each and every one of y’all, because I love the fans. Without the fans, there’s no us. I’m going to give you all a gift with the presence of the two of us.”
As for what a win means for him, Crawford believes a win on July 29 will be true confirmation of his greatness.
“A win shows that I’m the greatest fighter of the era. No man has captured undisputed in two weight classes. That solidifies me as the greatest fighter of this era.”
Turning his attention to Spence, the Omaha, Nebraska native pulled no verbal punches.
“He calls himself the big fish. What happens when you take the fish out the water? You suffocate him.
“I’m gonna gut him and feed him to everyone that eats fish in here. If he’s a big fish, we’re gonna have enough for everyone, with potatoes on the side. We don’t smoke over here, we go hunting for fish fillet.”
The always-confident Crawford would then turn the attention back to himself and assert that, after this fight, people will view him in a new light.
“People after this fight are gonna say that Bud Crawford is special. I can assure you that. He’ll give me my respect after the fight after I whoop that ass.
“I can guarantee that everyone is gonna witness something special. Errol doesn’t like to back up. I’m the type of fighter where you push me and I push even harder. We both have big hearts and like to fight. It makes for a great action-packed fight. July 29 is gonna be a great night for boxing.”
At the New York presser the following day, Crawford affirmed just how important this fight was for him.
“I’ve been preparing my whole life for this moment, right here. Moments like these, they don’t come often and this is my time. This is the Terence Crawford era. There ain’t no holding me back. Not Errol, not Derrick [James, Spence’s trainer]. Nobody’s stopping me from accomplishing what I want to accomplish on July 29th.
“…I can assure you, I can promise that y’all are gonna walk away and y’all are gonna say ‘that kid is special.’ Y’all gonna mark me as one of the greatest of all time, right along with the Floyd’s, the Ali’s, the Frazier’s, and y’all can sit there and say ‘oh well you ain’t fought nobody.’ And my reply to that is ‘I guess Errol is just another nobody that I fought.’ Peace.”
Spence-Crawford will take place live, July 29 on Showtime PPV, atop a Premier Boxing Champions event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
