FightHype’s Sean Zittel recently caught up with unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., who is deep in training camp for his highly-anticipated July 29 undisputed showdown with fellow champion Terence Crawford.
Spence Jr: “I’m going to do the same thing I always do. I’m going to put on a great show, and it’s going to be entertaining. I hope he brings his A-plus game.”
“It doesn’t bother me when people say…a lot of people, you know, people that are really relevant in the sport, were saying what Mikey Garcia was going to do to me. I didn’t get it at that time, but I took it with a grain of salt and just proved everybody wrong.”
Spence understands the public fascination with his upcoming fight and the numerous predictions being made. However, rather than get riled up by these predictions, he remains unfazed and determined to put on a great performance on the 29th.
Keeping Focus Where it Belongs
When asked about his opponent, Terence Crawford, Spence shared, “It ain’t really much to size up… I know how he fights, I know his mentality. I’m not looking into anything anyway. I focus on how I want to fight and how my coach thinks I should fight, and then we put it all together and come out with a victory on July 29th.”
Spence is aware of Crawford’s reputation for being a slow starter and for his tendency to analyze his opponents early in the fight. Despite this, Spence anticipates Crawford to be more assertive in their bout, potentially trying to adjust his style based on public criticism.
“Definitely, I think my punch tolerance is… solid. The objective is not to get hit that much. Of course, he’s going to hit me, and I’ll hit him, but I try to keep my hands up, block, and slip punches more than being a crash dummy.” Spence is confident in his resilience and plans to counter Crawford’s attack intelligently, not recklessly.
When the discussion turns to punching power, Spence acknowledges the differences between his and Crawford’s approaches. He considers Crawford to have a quicker, snappy punch while his style involves heavy-handed, clubbing power that wears down opponents.
Breaking Down Opponents
“I think it’s definitely going to be a stoppage. It takes a toll on your body. When you’re getting beat for 10, 12 rounds, guys often never be the same. When you get knocked out, it’s just a quick knockout, and then you’re okay.”
Spence intends to break down Crawford gradually, dealing consistent damage that would be more debilitating than a single knockout punch.
“If he wants to stand in front of me, there’s something I can do about it.” Spence laughs when asked about the possibility of Crawford choosing to stay in front of him during their fight.
