Jul 26, 2023 | Bakersfield, Boxing, Featured, Los Angeles, Sports, Valleys

Prediction and Breakdown for the Spence Jr vs Crawford Undisputed Welterweight Championship Saturday Night in Las Vegas

This Saturday night, on July 29th, at the T Mobile arena in Las Vegas, undefeated Terence “Bud” Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) puts his World Boxing Organization (WBO) championship belt on the line against undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs).

LA Spence Jr vs Crawford Press Conference

Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford face off at their Los Angeles press conference to promote their July 29^th fight. (Photo by Esther Lin/ Showtime)

Cameron Buford with Voice of the Fans

We are in the final days before the monumental match-up for the undisputed Welterweight Championship of the world between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. There hasn’t ever been an undisputed Welterweight division world champion in the four-belt era of boxing, which has been around since 1988. This has been the most anticipated fight in boxing since Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Manny Pacquiao in 2015, and has been on boxing fan’s radar for at least the past four years.

Each of these men has an impressive knockout rate coming into the fight, 76.92% for Crawford and 78.57% for Spence, and they each understand they will have to be at the best of their game to walk out of the ring as the undisputed champion come Saturday night.

“Everybody already knows. As soon as I get in the ring, I’m stepping. I expect him to step too,” Spence told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. “We’re going to put on a great show and a great performance.”

“I can guarantee that everyone is going to 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,” Crawford said during their initial press conference. “We both have big hearts and like to fight. It makes for a great action-packed fight. July 29 is going to be a great night for boxing.”

Recently, Shawn Porter and Kell Brooks, Spence and Crawford’s common opponent’s met the media to discuss this championship fight. Each of these former champions shared their thoughts on what it would take for each fighter to pull off a victory on Saturday.

Crawford, “has to get to Errol’s body and make him uncomfortable,” former WBC World Welterweight champion Shawn Porter said about Crawford’s key to victory in this fight. “Punch when he’s punching. Be accurate and be that sharpshooter.”

“Both fighters can make adjustments, be aggressive, fight off the back foot, and counterpunch,” Porter adds. “This is an outstanding fight because they both have an A+ in every box.”

“Errol Spence is big and strong and goes to the body well. His IQ is very high in the ring,” said Kell Brooks, who lost his IBF Championship Belt to Spence in 2017 and then to Crawford in 2020. “Errol brings calculated pressure and will go to the body.”

“Crawford is a sharpshooter with his punches and a good finisher,” Brooks adds. “Crawford has to be sharp, use the entire ring, and pick his shots at the right time and make Spence work when he doesn’t want to work.”

Because Crawford and Spence have a healthy respect for each other, there hasn’t been any mudslinging or personal attacks. Sure, each man is confident in why they will leave the ring with their hand raised on Saturday night, yet their press conferences have been just as subdued as their personalities.

Each time these men have experienced challenges in their careers, they have risen to the occasion to overcome challenges like champions. When Crawford was shot in the head in 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska, that fortified his relationship with his hometown, and his resiliency led him to become champion in multiple weight classes. After Spence’s car accident in 2019, in the greater Dallas area, he came back to beat Yordenis Ugas to win the WBA Super Welterweight Championship less than two years later.

These two champions will have to overcome the greatness of the other in the ring. The one who can adjust quickly will have the advantage in this fight. I see Spence’s consistency and attacking style giving him an early advantage in this fight. As Crawford is trying to download Spence’s tendencies, he’s likely to be down by two to three rounds.

Should Crawford get off to a slow start he will find himself fighting from a deficit, and the pressure will mount. However, if he can even up the fight at that point with his dynamic ring generalship and punching abilities, the fans will be in for a spectacular fight. I expect Crawford to battle back and win some of the middle rounds by showing off his excellent boxing skills. Spence’s consistency going to the body will pay dividends in the later rounds of this fight.

I can’t see either man getting knocked down or knocked out in this fight, yet boxing fans will witness a very tactical bout, between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. If Crawford can’t drop Spence when he catches him in those middle rounds, I see Erroll Spence Jr winning this fight by unanimous decision.

Tickets for this historic event in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena on July 29, 2023, are still available through AXS.com. If you can’t go to Las Vegas and enjoy the fight in person, you can purchase tickets for the closed circuit telecast at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, also through AXS.com.

This event is a Man Down Promotion, a TBC Promotion, and TGB Promotion. The pay-per-view begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features hard-hitting contender Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz facing unbeaten Giovanni Cabrera in a 12-round WBC and WBA Lightweight Title Eliminator in the co-main event, plus future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire battles Mexican contender Alexandro Santiago for the vacant WBC Bantamweight Title. Kicking off the telecast is top prospect Yoenis Tellez dueling Spanish contender Sergio Garcia in a 10-round super welterweight attraction.

Please follow @whatsgoodnsport for fight updates throughout the weekend, and visit www.SHO.com/sports or www.PremierBoxingChampions.com for more information on this fight. Be sure to follow #SpenceCrawford on Twitter, @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing, and @TGBPromotions, on Instagram for more insight.