It’s madness that it’s taken this long for Crawford to be in a fight this big against this calibre of opponent (assuming Spence is 100%, which I think he is). I remember watching him beat Ricky burns and thinking I’d be seeing him in some big fights over the next couple of years. Crazy to think that was 8 years ago!
I have Crawford winning this. I think Bud wins if they were both at the career best but I don't think Spence is at that level anymore. He looked slower against Ugas and even against Porter in 2020 he didn't seem quite the same. I don't know if Crawford could stop Spence but I see an 8 rounds to 4, 116-112 decision win.
Canelo and ggg both picking Crawford. I go back and forth on the daily. I think the style match up favors Crawford though. Spence being bigger does not work to his advantage here being that Crawford still has the longer reach and has been accurate against smaller opponents in the lightweight division. Derrick James comparison of Roy jones and Crawford relying heavily on athleticism is interesting, but I don’t think Crawford is declining. Switching from orthodox to southpaw should actually relieve injuries caused by overuse of one side of the body. I have a feeling that Spence is still likely to win a robbery decision, based on his popularity and work rate. Maybe Crawford playing it too safe and technical turns the judges off as well.
