Idk about Bud but if Shawn Porter force that mandatory I would feel more comfortable picking this fight. But based on what I’ve seen so far Errol Spencer’s jab, pace and body work would neutralize and stop Bud late. A good jab would keep him honest and Spence shown against a physically stronger Porter that he definitely can out grind his opponent on the inside.. Bud’s ability to confuse his opponents by switching southpaw will be ineffective to a guy who’s already southpaw if anything it’ll allow Spence to land body shots and jabs easier.. It’s easy to look like a superior fighter against B/B-, blown-up(Gamboa), or broken (Brook/Benavidez) competition.. Indongo has been KO’d twice since, Felix Diaz lost his next fight, Horn has been KO’d twice, Benavidez’s hasn’t fought since because of that knee..
I've always favoured Crawford. I just think he's the more versatile and skilled fighter. Spence is very good, he's basically fundamentally sound and physically very strong and talented but I think Crawford can take away his physicality with his superior boxing skills and ring IQ. Crawford can switch hit, it's one thing to fight an orthodox or a southpaw but it's different to fight a guy who can switch who can shift and still hit you out of either stance. Crawford has the better movement, longer reach, his counter punching and punch selection is superior too. Spence's size, strength, physicality and athleticism will make it competitive early, but once Crawford figures him out, exploits the weaknesses in Spence's game he'll take over like he always does and either win a wide decision or stop him late.
I can't shake off my nagging suspicion that the pound-for-pound "brilliance" we're seeing from Crawford at welterweight is nothing more than a mirage. These are the basis of those who strongly believe Crawford is the best at welterweight: KO7 Horn, who let's be honest, was nothing more than a caveman who benefited from a "setup" fight in his hometown against Pacquiao. He never accomplished anything at all after that setup fight. TKO12 Benavidez, who is big with a decent punch. Period. Oh, and with a Yuri Foreman knee TKO6 Amir Khan, who was knocked out far more impressively three times before Crawford TKO9 Kavaliauskas, well at least the guy was ranked TBRB's #10 TKO4 Kell Brook, knocked out by a half-jab Crawford made his reputation with his work at 135 and 140, nobody is disputing this. But to be regarded by some as the best AT welterweight after only fighting a champ by theft and nobody else among the division's top 5? Why do some people not even feel the need to at least reserve judgment until he proves himself against a legitimate top 5-ish welterweight? He did not even want Ugas or Porter, both ranked higher than all his current opposition at the weight, so we could at least have gauged better how he really fares at the weight. Yeah, fighting the Kell Brooks and Amir Khans really made his argument there. Geez, 18 months and five fights into the division and all anybody can do is extrapolate his "perceived abilities" at the weight against a top 5 opponent. Arum may not have succeeded in turning him into an absolute box-office monster but he sure succeeded in putting majority of the boxing world under a collective hypnosis that this guy even deserves top 5 consideration at the weight.
I see this fight being similar to Crawford vs Benavidez. They will be having that upstairs push and pull battle (a little easier for Crawford because Spence isn’t as good a counter-puncher) and it will all change when Crawford starts to focus on Spence’s body with combo’s. I think Crawford would stop him late.
I am finding it hard to see how and why some think Crawford KOs Spence. Is it because Spence like Benavidez has a, hitherto still secret, bad knee? Or is it because Crawford has knocked out every one of his formidable opposition at welterweight, and therefore would knock out Spence, who for all intents and purposes should be considered ability-wise similar to the likes of Kavaliauskas, Horn, Khan, the version of Brook that got jab-KO'd?
Only 2 guys have gone the distance with Crawford in the last 6 years, one of those guys has never been stopped and even then he hit the deck twice. So suffice to say Crawford has pretty good power. Plus Spence's defence isn't great and Crawford being a counter puncher will use his aggression against him. I don't think Spence is the type to go into survival mode as his style is to press so even when losing he'll come forward and possibly walk into something. So I don't see a stoppage as being totally off the cards.
Four and a half of those last 6 years were spent fighting 140 pounders. At welterweight, should we extrapolate his performances against Khan, Brook, Horn, Benavidez and Kavaliauskas to a potential fight against say Spence? Am I missing something here by opting to wait to see first how he fares against a top 5 welterweight before even considering whether or not he knocks out Spence? One can look extremely good in the face of subpar opposition, and I think most people's idea of Crawford at welterweight is primarily based on a mirage.
Spence showed mercy to both Garcia fighters where Bud would go for all out murder. My money is on the quiet killer Crawford
Because of styles. I wouldn’t for example pick Crawford to stop Danny Garcia. Do you have a breakdown or are you just picking Spence to win because he’s fought bigger names?
Well he's stopped every welterweight he's fought so far, though obviously none of them are Spence. But Spence is a fighter than only fights one way, so he'll be going right at the counter puncher and his style is to simply press more when he's struggled in the past so I see him as the type of fighter to go out on his shield rather than look to survive. Yes Crawford hasn't fought the same level of opponents as Spence but he's looked dominant in beating who is has faced and yes you can look far better than you are vs sub par opposition but the skills are there from Crawford, if you know what to look for it obvious he's the more skilled and versatile fighter, if they were both natural welters I'd be confident Crawford would not only beat Spence but dominate him, the only thing that makes it competitive is Spence's physical advantages.
