By: Sean Crose
“I can understand why I’m not a fan of betting,” Errol Spence admitted to the media on Tuesday. WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight boxer was in New York with his next opponent, WBO welterweight boxer Terence Crawford, to help fuel the upcoming July 29 fight their. If Spence was annoyed that Crawford was a gambler, he certainly didn’t show it. Indeed, the undefeated Texans prefer to focus on what’s going to happen in the ring rather than at the betting counters.
“I feel like inside, it’s the toughest opponent in your life,” Spence said. “Just focus. Be 100% focused… that’s what makes great warriors great, because they’re always focused and always on the right track.” As for how he intends to defeat Crawford, Spence tackles the issue in a tough general way. “It seems I just broke him mentally, physically, almost mentally, I just broke his will. “Hopefully,” he added, referring to Crawford, “I didn’t break his face so badly.”
Although this war has been going on for a long time, Spence has made it clear that now is the best time for the battle to end. “It was definitely the perfect timing,” he said. “If this war had happened five years ago, what would we have fought for?” As far as Spence knows, the passage of time has made his fight with Crawford much more engaging. “It (was) going to be just two people fighting,” Spence said, “but now we are fighting for all the marbles. We are at the peak. He has more experience. Now I have more experience. It’s just a recipe for a great fight.
When asked who ultimately brought the negotiations to the finish line, Spence indicated that he was the one who ultimately made the fight a reality. “It’s definitely me,” he said. “I gave in to let the fight go. It was basically my decision that his fight would happen. With that said, Spence has made it clear that he believes the game against Crawford will be well worth the wait.
“I think it will become a classic,” he said. “I think he will definitely come to fight. I came to fight.” Indeed, the match – on paper at least – seems to have a chance to be one that fans will remember vividly. After all, both boxers are highly skilled and highly determined. Moreover, no one has ever tasted failure.
