Crawford: Garcia No Joke For Spence; Sturdier, Punches Harder Than Porter

Terence Crawford wouldn’t pick a winner.

The WBO welterweight champion isn’t sure what to expect from Errol Spence Jr. in Spence’s first fight following his scary car accident in October. If Spence faces Danny Garcia next, though, Crawford knows the unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champ is in for another difficult fight, something similar to his 12 rough rounds with Shawn Porter.

Spence and Garcia reportedly will square off sometime in the fall in a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View main event. Garcia said recently that he hasn’t been told definitively if he will face Spence next, but Crawford broke down Spence-Garcia during a recent appearance on “The Ak And Barak Show,” which streams daily on DAZN and SiriusXM.

“I don’t know what his status [is] on his injuries, you know, or his health,” Crawford said. “But all I know is, you know, it’s gonna be a good fight, and Danny Garcia ain’t no pushover. Like I’ve been telling people, like, you know, he ain’t no joke, to be going in there, just thinking you gonna do what you want with him. So, you know, and Errol ain’t, either. So, that’s gonna make for a great fight. I wish both of them well and the best.”

Spence-Garcia would be even more intriguing, Crawford pointed out, if Spence fights Garcia the way he approached Porter. The left-handed Spence says he purposely fought Porter’s fight to show he could defeat Porter at this own game.

Las Vegas’ Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) previously defeated Philadelphia’s Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant WBC welterweight title in September 2018. Crawford still likes Garcia’s chances against Spence (26-0, 21 KOs).

“The way Errol fought Shawn Porter, I kind of think it suits Danny’s style better,” Crawford said. “You know, because I feel like Shawn has a more rugged type of strength than Danny. But I think Danny is more sturdier and punch harder. You know, Shawn got that bull strength, but Danny got like that, ‘You’re not pushing me back’ strength. You know, so it’s gonna be exciting to watch because Errol got that same strength, you know, like Danny, like, ‘All right, I’m gonna out-power you, out-will you, you know, out-punch you.’ So, now it comes to who’s gonna out-will who, who’s gonna take whose punch better. You know, both of ‘em can box, at the same time, so it’s gonna make for an exciting fight.”

Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) previously stated that he wouldn’t want to face Spence in Spence’s first fight back because he wouldn’t get the proper credit for beating his welterweight rival.

The 30-year-old Spence, of DeSoto, Texas, wants to box a top opponent in his first fight after suffering cuts to his face and body and losing teeth in a one-car accident October 10 in Dallas. The 2012 U.S. Olympian would prefer to battle WBA champ Manny Pacquiao, but Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is less likely than Garcia to become Spence’s first opponent since Spence topped Porter by split decision September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.