My take on the state of welterweights

I think it's obvious at this point Spence should be considered #1 in the division. Came off an injury and 1 year of inactivity to completely dismantle a top 5 guy and former champion. He also beat the current #1 contender Porter who has given everyone at 147 a rough challenge and close fights whenever he steps up. He beat Brook who is easily Crawford's best win at 147. He beat Peterson so bad he retired. He stopped Bundu when Thurman couldn't. Lastly, he won every round over an undefeated Mikey who was on many people's p4p lists and made it look easy.

Manny would logically be #2 based on sheer depth. He convincingly beat a prime undefeated WBA champ Thurman despite a 10 year age gap and moving up from a lower weight class. He also has good wins over Bradley (very underrated), Broner, Algiers, Rios, etc. He has quantity over quality at 147.

Crawford I cannot place higher than 3rd mostly due to the fact all his best wins (other than Jeff Horn) have asterisks*. Khan was hurt by a low blow and chose to quit rather than take his 5 minutes. This isn't Crawford's fault and I think he would have won regardless, but it's annoying because I was hoping Khan' hand speed and ring IQ would at least give him enough of a challenge to gauge how good Crawford is. The Brook fight didn't tell us much either since going in we knew he was damaged goods and sure enough, he ended up getting stopped due to swelling. The fight did briefly show Crawford could be outjabbed. His resume is very thin even at 140 where the division was not very strong. Indongo got blasted out fairly easily. Gamboa was good and game, but he was a dwarf and had become a trial horse lately. Postol is probably his best win overall and he didn't offer much resistance either.

Lurking in the background are Ugas who is another rightful #1 contender and Josesitoo Lopez who has been a hardworking and consistent fighter taking the rugged road and deserves a shot. Thurman will likely need a tune up and probably won't be ready.

So with that being said, Pacquiao has called out Spence. Pac has made it quite clear through his actions and the words if Freddie Roach they aren't interested in fighting Crawford due to the clash of styles. There is no point in trying to make that fight. Bob Arum also tried to make it happen and guys like Roach and Ariza consistently set up road blocks. Forget about Pac vs Crawford, stop asking for it.

But Spence vs Pac is not only feasible as they both fight under PBC, it SHOULD happen. Both guys want it and it would be a unification bout that would generate huge money. It would be an interesting clash since both are south paws. Spence expressed interest in fighting 3x next year.

Now considering Crawford has been hard headed and demands 50/50, here's what i think should happen:

-Spence defends against Lopez in February or March. Lopez gets a nice retirement payday and rides off into the sunset.

-Pac taks a tune up on the undercard. Maybe against someone like Adrian Granados just to shake off the ring rust.

-in April, Crawford defends against Porter who is his mandatory so get it over with goddamnit. Idgaf about what Porter's numbers are if he can sell, make it happen. He's an action packed crowd pleaser and Crawford needs to fight him or get stripped.

-in June/July Spence fights Pacquiao in a mega unification bout in the Philippines. Yes I said it, the Philippines. This will be Pacquiao's ultimate test and the turnout will be INSANE if they want to to big numbers due to covid. You want the fighters to get paid? Here's how you do it. Plus it can be a farewell fight for Pac if he loses and fans can say they were there when he fought valiantly against a prime undefeated champion. It would be poetic. When was the last time Pac fought in his home country anyway? And if Pac doesn't want to unify he should defend against Ugas. If he won't defend his title or unify, then he needs to retire and stop wasting people's time.

-HOPEFULLY we get the winner of Pac vs Spence against the winner of Crawford vs Porter by November/December for undisputed.

Is this the most likely scenario? Of course not, boxing politics, sanctioning body b.s, and fighters acting like divas will likely get in the way. We'd honestly be lucky to see even 2 of the fights i mentioned. But that's my ideal timeline for 2021.

 

I don't hate Crawford. Someone who hates Crawford wouldn't say he's #3 in the division nor would I have him in my top 5 p4p. I just think he hasn't been tested and is being a diva because he knows Arum is gonna want a big chunk of his purse. If he takes a 60:40 split he'll really be left with 20 so he thinks he deserves 50:50.

I don't care about any of that. To quote Thurman, the fight could be over a box 9f cornflakes. Idgaf who gets what, I just want to see undisputed.

 

You're going to sit there and type with a straight face that you think Brook's previous damage from the GGG and Spence fights we rent a factor at all? He was as fresh as a daisy and simply got out worked?

 

Manny yes. I agree.

Spence isn't the one constantly coming up with reasons he can't fight one of the top guys. Crawford's MANDATORY is Porter yet he's still trying to come up with reasons not to fight him. He has yet to fight a single prime top 10 opponent. Spence has done this multiple times.

 

It's not a "lie" I remembered the injury incorrectly. A lie would imply you couldn't simply check for yourself and are relying on my testimony. I thought his eyes were swelling up, maybe im remembering wrong. I only saw the fight once on a laggy connection.

You can argue all you want but the facts of the matter are Brook is past it and damaged goods and yet that's Crawford's best name opponent at 147. Nothing will change that fact. Unless you think Jeff Horn or Khan are better. His resume is not as good as Spence or Pacquiao's by any stretch of the imagination.