Boxing: Super Fight this month [View all]

July 29: Las Vegas (Showtime PPV)
Title fight: Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford, 12 rounds, for Spence's WBC, IBF and WBA welterweight titles and Crawford's WBO welterweight title.


The boxing community is eagerly anticipating what -- at least on paper -- promises to be this era's supreme "Super Fight." It ranks with the 9-16-81 showdown between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas "the Hitman" Hearns for the undisputed welterweight title. Ray's record of 30-1 (21 KOs) included his avenging his lone loss to Roberto Duran, while Tommy was 32-0 (30 KOs) at the time.

In this fight, both title-holders are undefeated: Spence is 28-0 (22 KOs), and Crawford is 39-0 (30 KOs). Each man appears to be in his prime. Both are 100% confident in their ability to not only defeat the other, but to knock him out. And there is mighty good reason for that.

On various internet boxing forums, as expected, there are those who are fully convinced that their fighter will devastate the opponent. In my opinion, if one is unable to make a solid case for each guy winning, you are not able to view it objectively. They are both so good that it is hard to see either losing at this point -- until it happens.

At 5' 9" Spence is an inch taller than Bud, but Crawford has a two inch reach advantage. I do not think these will come into play in a manner that determines the outcome. What could be much more important, in my opinion, is who serves as referee, followed by who judges the fight. This could be significant if, in a worst case scenario, a foul -- accidental or otherwise -- causes an injury. The obvious one would be a head butt causing a cut. Let's hope such a thing doesn't happen.

Both men were outstanding amateurs, winning national titles and competing at the higher levels of international competition. Spence fought in the 2012 Olympics, and had a 135-12 record before entering the professional ranks. Crawford had competed in the 2008 Olympic trials, losing to the eventual winner (who went on to be disqualified for using cold medication at the Olympics). In his 58-12 amateur career, Bud beat future pro champions Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia.

The making of this fight was difficult because each man belonged to a different promotional stable. Spence's promoter demanded a larger pay day, because he held more belts, and they claimed had fought a higher level of competition at welterweight. Bud had held titles at lower weights, and moved up to welterweight when Spence was already dominating the class. The truth is that, despite the welterweight division having serious depth, these two are levels above the other top ten contenders.

A common opponent was former champion Shawn Porter, one of the toughest guys of his era. Spence won a split-decision over Shawn in 2019. Porter beat an undefeated top contender in his next fight. Then Crawford TKOed him in a brutal fight. It is, of course, important to recognize that neither Errol of Bud fight like Porter, so make of their results against Shawn what you will.

I may not be fully objective here, but I think that the smartest members of the boxing community that I interact with all say this fight could go either way. This includes a range of old fighters, including ex-champions, and trainers that I respect. By no coincidence, that is exactly the way that my son and I see this upcoming Super Fight. Depending upon the day of the week, my son and I make strong cases for each fighter.

In the end, the thing that stands out to me is something Teddy Atlas recently said. He noted that both are elite fighters in their primes, making for an even fight on paper. But, he noted, Bud has something extra, distinct from any other fighter in recent times, and Teddy favors him for that reason.

If you get one PPV fight this year -- pitch in with a few people if necessary -- this is the one to get. If you love the art of body-punching, you are in for a special treat.