LOS ANGELES – Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. will unify the welterweight belts on Saturday July 29, but not without some verbal sparring first.
The two fighters kicked off what is to be back-to-back days of press conferences, with the first being Tuesday in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
The road to this bout has been nothing short of long and grueling for both camps. During the course of 2022, the fight was close to being finalized but negotiations constantly broke down and the fight couldn’t be finalized until this year.
“It doesn’t matter what took so long, all that matters is we here now,” Crawford said. “I’m excited, everybody else excited.”
Crawford and Spence Jr. are both currently top pound-for-pound fighters within boxing.
Crawford boasts a 39-0 record, with 30 of those wins coming via knockout. Spence Jr. brings a 28-0 record, with 22 wins coming via knockout. Apart from becoming the undisputed welterweight champion, both fighters will look to become the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“The winner of this fight is definitely the best fighter in the world,” Spence Jr. said. “Everybody knows this is the best fighter, whoever wins this fight, in the world… no questions asked.”
For Crawford, he is looking to achieve history and put himself in rare air. If Crawford were to defeat Spence Jr., he would become the first male boxer to become an undisputed champion in two weight classes.
“It shows that I’m the greatest fighter of this era,” Crawford said. “That will solidify me as the greatest fighter of this era.”
Spence Jr. is looking to disrupt history, and defeat another great fighter. Spence Jr., over his last four fights, has defeated the likes of Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas. After those four victories, Spence Jr. has become the unified champion as he holds three of the four belts.
“This fight is basically so even, it’s going to be more about just being more focused,” Spence Jr. said. “Just staying on point all throughout the fight and making sure you don’t lose focus because that’s how you get caught.”
The two fighters are set for a second press conference in New York on Wednesday before their July 29 bout in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena.
