Ed Zurga/Getty ImagesYeah, yeah. Sure, sure.
It should have come years earlier.
But that doesn't change that it's the sport's two best welterweights—and two of its top pound-for-pound fighters, according to both B/R and The Ring—getting together to settle a prolonged argument over who's better. And that's good. No matter what.
They've been dueling champions at 147 for better than five years and have combined for 12 defenses (six apiece), with Crawford keeping the WBO title while Spence added the WBC and WBA straps to the IBF bauble that he wrested from Kell Brook in 2017.
This means there's an excellent chance it'll be worth the wait.
Particularly because it's so hard to imagine how one guy will dominate the other.
Spence is subtly aggressive, punches well to the body and has stinging power that no less an authority than Shawn Porter, who's fought both men, suggests can wear a foe down over a series of rounds. Crawford, meanwhile, is a southpaw who shifts stances better than anyone in the game and is a master at managing range, which allows him to be effective while both leading and countering. So, with all that being even, the answer is in the intangibles.
And in this case, that means the question is "Who is the bigger dog?"
To me, with no other evidence than a pre-fight vibe, it's Crawford. His all-around skill is beyond question, but what's just as certain is the glee with which he delivers his brand of precision violence. When the fight is there to be taken down the stretch, it feels like he's the one who'll take it.
Prediction: Crawford by TKO, Round 11
- Lyle Fitzsimmons
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