Terence Crawford Defeats Errol Spence Jr. by TKO

In front of a huge crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Terence “Bud” Crawford put forth an impressively one-sided performance against the former undefeated unified welterweight champion, Errol Spence Jr.

Prior to losing his IBF, WBA and WBC world championship titles to Crawford, Spence flirted with the idea of moving up in weight to challenge in the super welterweight division. Despite Spence’s insistence that he could make 147 lbs. for the superfight against Bud Crawford, his implied size advantage played very little into the results of the contest. In fact, comparing the physiques of the two men, Crawford appeared the bigger man at times during the fight.

From the beginning of the much anticipated unification bout between two elite fighters in their primes, Crawford started characteristically slowly, measuring distance with a long jab and gauging Spence’s abilities. Spence used his power to try to apply pressure early and had some success, albeit only in the very beginning of the fight.

By the end of the first round, Crawford had already begun to counter Spence’s famous southpaw jab, a feat in itself, and a harbinger of the shocking results to come.

Terence Crawford’s Skills

Perhaps one of the most impressive facts about this battle of elite southpaws is that Crawford made the choice to fight left handed from the opening bell. For the duration of the fight against the most dangerous opponent of his career, Crawford could’ve switched to orthodox stance and looked to exploit skill advantages in the resulting asymmetry. He’s done this against almost all of his opponents, even at the highest level.

Instead, he fought the entire contest as a lefty, unlocking a rare southpaw vs. southpaw mirror match between two generational talents. He was comfortable on the inside and outside, blasting Spence with hooks in close and consistently placing a surprisingly hard right jab from range. Spence’s own jab, usually the deciding factor in his fights, was effectively nullified by the head movement and countering of Crawford.

Crawford used Spence’s reliance on the jab to create opportunities to counter. Spence started letting his hands go more, and Crawford countered him more. By 2:32 of Round 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 29, 2023, Harvey Dock called a halt to the match, signaling Terence “Bud” Crawford as the new unified welterweight champion of the world.

Errol Spence Jr. Next Fight

Few doubt the courage, determination or skills of Spence, even in light of such a one-sided defeat. A quick look through his fight resume will remind us that this is the same man who so handily defeated Kell Brook and Danny Garcia and held the welterweights hostage for years. Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. is still a hell of a fighter, which is why so many are surprised that he was defeated so comfortably by Crawford.

While Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. is still a hell of a fighter, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which he would somehow defeat the supremely skilled Terence Crawford at 147 lbs. In his post fight comments, he hinted strongly at his interest in a rematch to avenge his only career loss, and surely many would love to see the two run it back.

Waiting at 154 lbs. is a new landscape of challenges for Spence. The largest rock in the road so far appears to be Jaron “Boots” Ennis, whose skillset is reminiscent of Crawford’s at times, but whose power and explosiveness might be too much for either welterweight star.

Terence Crawford Next Fight

Having moved up in weight to challenge the king of the welterweights and emerged indubitably victorious, Crawford has demonstrated the supremacy of his skills. How his previous promoters managed to obscure his generational talent is baffling; why they instead chose to promote certain other fighters with more telltale signs of lemonhood is downright disappointing. Regardless of the interesting development of his now fairytale boxing career, Crawford appears to now sit in a very favorable position among prizefighters.

Crawford appears open to a rematch against Errol Spence Jr. at 154 lbs., but it’s likely the two might run into any number of interesting side quests on their way to another match at the higher weight. Just as Jaron “Boots” Ennis has made his interest in a Spence fight clear over the years, he has now appeared to have successfully lobbied for a contest against the winner of the megafight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

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