By: Hans Themistode
Before Terence Crawford was recognized as one of the best boxers in the world, Tim Bradley sang his praises.
A two-division world champion, Bradley repeatedly told the story of sharing the ring with Crawford during a match a few years ago. Although Crawford had yet to win a world title at the time, Bradley was immediately amazed by his skill in the ring.
A few years later, Bradley was even more impressed with Crawford.
For such a great Crawford, current uniformed champion Errol Spence Jr is seen as his biggest challenge to date. With the Dallas-born sport having a strong overall track record and two of the big four titles at 147 pounds, the boxing world is waiting patiently until they share the ring.
If and when they do, most will consider their confrontation a 50/50 fight. However, in Bradley’s mind, he believed that Crawford would leave Spence Jr on the bench before the final bell rang.
Bradley said in an interview with Fight Hub TV: “I was told Spence was eliminated. “Crawford does too many things. He’ll find a way to take down Spence. There is no doubt in my mind. ”
Bradley’s overwhelming belief in Crawford’s skill and strength was only reinforced over the weekend. At the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Crawford took on his toughest opponent to date, former two-time heavyweight champion Shawn Porter.
Early on, Crawford was unable to keep up with Porter’s clumsy rhythm. However, after fighting in fairly even conditions throughout their first inning, Crawford kept going. In season ten, the Omaha native, Nebraska, registered his first takedown of the night thanks to a cut on the left. As Porter looked dazed, Crawford swooped in and made it a few seconds later.
Throughout Porter’s career, the illustrious former athlete has long been praised for his ability to put every top 147-pound player in trouble in the ring. Although Bradley advised Porter for bringing up some issues early on for Crawford, he pointed to Crawford’s adjustments that led to the first goal of Porter’s career.
“Spence, [Keith] Thurman, they all struggled with Porter. Crawford, he struggled a bit, the kid had a great game plan, got a lot of experience and put it to good use but for the most part, Crawford was able to nullify a lot of the things he did. do. It just shows you how great Crawford is.”
