Errol Spence Jr. discussed upcoming Terence Crawford fight
Spence calls himself the “A-side”and the “bigger predator” when talking about the undisputed clash with Crawford
Boxing superstar Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. joined the crew of “The Pivot Podcast” for the second time as he previewed his long awaited clash against fellow unbeaten world champion Terence Crawford in a new episode that debuts today at 12 p.m. ET. Spence sat down with co-hosts Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor before facing Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship on Saturday, July 29 on SHOWTIME PPV from Las Vegas.
The Dallas-native Spence first spoke to the crew in mid-2022 before his victory over Yordenis Ugas and met up for a second sit-down last month coming off the press tour to announce the fight with Crawford. As he explained to the hosts, those face-to-face meetings at press conferences brought his excitement about the fight to another level.
“The press conference gets you more pumped up because you see each other face to face,” said Spence, who owns the WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight world titles. “My trainer’s talking, his trainer’s talking, we’re saying stuff to get each other ticked off. That gets us ready to go.”
Spence and Crawford had been circling each other for some time, with fan anticipation of the matchup growing and growing over the years. Over this time period, Spence held firm on his belief about the positioning of the fight and thought that Crawford was unable to accept that reality.
“I’m the guy for sure, but he didn’t wanna believe that I was the A-side,” said Spence. “When you talk about putting butts in the seats, I’m him. He didn’t wanna believe that. His accolades are cool, but take them to the bank and see what you get for them. He didn’t wanna understand that.”
Finally, Spence went out of his way to connect with Crawford one-on-one via Facetime, to hopefully hash out any differences and make the fight a reality for boxing fans. Although it took multiple calls, Spence was able to find a way to land the fight he desired for his long term legacy in the sport.
“The first time we Facetimed, it was mostly feeling each other out,” said Spence. “Just talking about family and life and different things. We only talked about the fight for like five or 10 minutes. The next time we were on Facetime he started telling me what he was concerned about and what he wanted. It made sense to me… I feel like I really got this fight made, because there were things he was asking for that my team thought I wouldn’t do. We’re talking about percentages and stuff like that. But I was like yeah, give him that. This is the fight I wanted. Period. I can’t leave this division without fighting him. This is one of the legendary fights.”
Clark observes that he’s never seen Spence as animated as he is when talking about his upcoming showdown against Crawford. Spence agrees and goes into detail on why the long-term impact of this fight makes it mean even more, and even shares his hopes that this fight will inspire future mega-fights in the sport.
“We bring greatness out of each other,” said Spence. “That’s just what it is. If I truly feel like someone isn’t on my level, I’m super dismissive of that person…With Crawford, there’s more excitement. He’s bringing something. When you talk about two fighters and their mentalities and how they are, our mentalities are to kill. I just feel like we’re meant to clash. I wasn’t gonna let this fight go away because of ego or pride.
“I hope this fight lights a fire in other people to make these big fights happen. And I want the public to buy the pay-per-view so that it shows fighters that there is reward in taking risks. With fan support, you’re gonna get more big fights. If the numbers are right, these fights will get made.”
When asked about his mentality on being able to go from cordial conversations, to vicious attacks once the first bell rings, Spence invoked some of the greatest fighters of all time to describe how he feels his mentality sets him apart.
“I feel like I’m an apex predator,” said Spence. “I could be in my locker room on fight night with my opponent, chilling and playing dominos, but they say it’s fight time and we get in that ring, I don’t know you. I’m coming to decapitate you. I don’t know where it comes from. It’s an ‘it factor’ that makes some people great, some good and some okay. Not everyone has the same instinct as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson or Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier…You could be my best friend, but when we’re in the ring, it doesn’t matter.”
Always curious, Crowder reads back some of Spence’s public comments on the fight back to him, specifically how he believes he’ll break Crawford “physically, mentally and spiritually.” Needing to know how that feels, Crowder pushes Spence on the specific moment when he knows a fighter is “breaking”.
“When you’re breaking someone down, there’s a point where you’ll just see a certain look on their face in the middle of a round that lets you know,” said Spence. “That’s even more satisfying than knocking someone down. If you punish someone and keep beating on them, it gets to a point where they might not come back into the ring the same.”
In re-examining some of what they discussed in their first sit-down, Spence goes deep on how a 2019 car crash that nearly took away his life and boxing career in one fell swoop led to a complete change in mentality that’s made him an even better fighter since.
“I feel like everything that happened to me outside of the ring made me more satisfied with what I do have,” said Spence. “I can still do what I love…I got to the point where I had really forgotten what I was doing it for. I forgot that I was doing it for my kids and my mom and my dad. I got caught up in “the lifestyle”. I got a knock on my door, because that car crash was a warning. I had to lock in and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since…It’s about staying focused and doing it right. I have to leave no regrets.”
Finally, Spence reiterated what he needs to do on July 29 to emerge victorious in one of boxing’s biggest fights in recent memory. Unsurprisingly, Spence keeps it simple and is deep in belief that he’s got everything he needs to have his hand raised.
“I just have to be myself and listen to my coach,” said Spence. “A lot of guys when they get into big fights, they get out of character. They want to show a different style. But I’m gonna do what I’ve been doing. Nobody has stopped it yet. If I have to step to him, you know I’m gonna step to him. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win. I feel like he’s gonna wilt to me. I’m gonna be in his face 24/7. He’s a predator too, but I’m different. I’m a bigger predator.”
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