Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford Predictions: Take Bud to win the lot

It’s finally arrived! The fight of the year and probably the decade is about to go down in the early hours of Sunday morning. We’ve previewed the undisputed welter weight fight between Error Spence Jr. and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and given you our predictions.

Many naysayers thought this fight was simply destined never to happen. After the recent mess that happened in the heavyweight division and the best avoiding the best, how refreshing it is to see the best two fighters in their division and two of the best pound for pound in the world taking on each other for all of the marbles.

The unified WBC, WBA and IBF holder Errol Spence Jr. (28-0-0(22ko)) was seen as the man at the 147 lb weight, having beat reigning champions, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and Yordenis Ugas to pick up multiple straps at welter weight.

That was until the former WBO light weight and undisputed light welter weight champions Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (39-0-0(30ko)) moved up a weight and fans immediately began to speculate about who would win a head-to-head showdown between the pair.

The fight looked unlikely to happen, after initially being agreed for November 2022. However, both camps announced that negotiations had broken down and were moving on.

Thankfully, Al Haymon (who advises Spence) and Ish Hinson (Crawford’s advisor) were able to get all parties in the room again and agree to the 29 July megafight.

That means for us fight fans, we are likely to see the biggest fight in boxing (outside the heavyweight division), since Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao.

Both men are reportedly guaranteed a eight figure purse and the PPV figures should be huge.

Where and when is the fight taking place?

The fight is happening at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the early hours of Sunday, July 30th and will be broadcast live and exclusively on TNT Sports PPV in the UK, at a cost of £19.95. The event is a Al Haymon promotion for PBC.  The show will start at around 12am, with the main ring walk taking place at around 4am UK time.

What does the full fight card look like?

• MAIN EVENT: Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford – for WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO welterweight titles
• Isaac Cruz vs. Giovanni Cabrera
• Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr vs. Sergio Garcia
• Gurgen Hovhannisyan vs Viktor Vykhryst

(subject to change)

Who’s the favourite?

Crawford is the 4/6 favourite for this mega fight, with Spence a 13/10 outsider. The bookies have the draw very slim, showing just how tight they expect this fight to be; it can be backed at just 12/1.

We interviewed ex-World Champion Anthony Crolla on the Betfred light weight boxing show about the upcoming fight and he gave us his fight breakdown:

What’s been said?

“I couldn’t think of a better scenario than this. I’m the guy, for sure.

I’m the A-side. I got to be A-side, and that’s why the business side was kind of because, with him, he just didn’t want to believe that I’m the big dog when we talk about ticket sales, when we talk about putting butts in the seats, all that and he didn’t want to believe that.

He was like, ‘Well, I did this. I won these belts; I did this.’ That’s cool, but try to take that to the bank. I feel like he’s my dancing partner, and I’m his dancing partner.”

Errol Spence

 

“This is the fight that everybody has been yearning for years. It’s one of the biggest fights in the past decade that I can think of.

So yeah, it’s pretty big. Since I was a little kid, my dad always told me you don’t have no friends in the ring, and you don’t play boxing. So when I go in the ring, it’s simple. I’m going to win.”

Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford to win – 4/6

I can’t wait to watch this fight. If you can’t get yourself up for a fight like this, you simply don’t like boxing.

If you had asked me over the last couple of years how this fight was going to go down, I’ve have changed my opinion more than Tyson Fury changes his fight demands.

Spence would probably have been my betting favourite up until fairly recently, until Bud Crawford showed just exactly how good he was at the very highest level.

The Nebraskan hasn’t blinked at welter weight and has won his last ten fights via stoppage, with brutal power in both hands.

Meanwhile, Spence has fought just once in the last two and half years and could well suffer ring rust here.

Not only that but he turned up for right week looking strangely gaunt and unwell. His appearance wasn’t that of a man happy in himself and his body.

Crawford looked supremely confident and while the two fighters have a few shared opponents, it’s Bud who has looked the more impressive against Brook and Porter, dispatching both by KO.

I think the 35-year-old wins this one fairly comfortably and for me, it’s just a matter of exactly how he wins…

Terence Crawford to win on Points – 7/4

I was very very close to going Crawford by KO, given that he has won his last ten fights via stoppage and 30 of his 39 fights by KO.

However, Spence is also unbeaten, is an elite, elusive fighter and I think he can stay out of trouble enough to avoid being stopped.

The 33-year-old has never been seriously hurt in his career and I don’t think Crawford will take enough risks to try and knock Spence out.

*All prices correct at the time of writing.