Terence Crawford understands the historical importance of his upcoming unification fight with Errol Spence Jr. The reigning WBO welterweight champion faces Spence for his WBC, WBA and IBF belts on July 29 from Las Vegas live on Showtime pay-per-view.
Terence Crawford Calls Errol Spence ‘The Fight That Boxing Needs’
For Terence Crawford, his July 29 showdown with Errol Spence is not just about himself or even Spence for that matter. Or the undisputed welterweight boxing championship.
It is about more.
Crawford and Spence meet from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas live on Showtime pay-per-view.
“This fight puts a stamp on everything that I’ve accomplished in this sport,” Crawford said. “People have tried to discredit me for this and that and have been calling for this fight. This solidifies everything.
“This is the fight that boxing needs.”
Crawford, who is 30-0 with 30 wins by knockout, is a native of Omaha, Nebraska. He was a bronze medalist at the 2007 U.S. National Championships, earning amateur wins over the likes of Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia.
He has reeled off six consecutive successful defenses of his WBO belt, including a December sixth round knockout of David Avanesyan. He has also finished the likes of Shawn Porter and Kell Brook, as each of his last 10 bouts have been stopped early.
Terence Crawford Used To The Title-Fight Spotlight
The last time Crawford fought in a non-title fight came in 2013 when he finished Andrey Klimov.
“This fight boils down to who prepared the best and then on fight night, who’s on their A+ game. That’s what it comes down to,” he said. “I’m not focusing on a potential rematch. I plan on winning the first match. The rematch is not in my mind. I’m focused on the job at hand right now.
“Everyone Errol faced had a loss and had something already taken from them. He faced guys who already knew how to lose. I take a fighters’ belt and their ‘0’. Those fighters are never the same after that face me.
“The objective is always to get the win first and foremost. But if you’ve followed our careers, you know that Errol and I are always in exciting fights. There’s no doubt in my mind that this fight will be more of the same.
“With the magnitude and the stage and just everything that’s surrounding this fight, yes I needed Errol. But legacy-wise, I had already accomplished a lot and was already a Hall of Famer. This win is the cherry on top for me.”
