The shortlist for some of the greatest welterweight fighters of all time is headed by the likes of Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, and Felix Trinidad, among others. 

Ahead of his undisputed welterweight championship fight against Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford believes he and his cohort already belong atop any subjective all-time list for 147 pounders. 

“We're ranked up there with all of them [historically]. When you talk about the greatest welterweights of the division and on the face of the earth, you're going to talk about Errol Spence and Terence Crawford,” Crawford said in an interview with BoxingScene.com and other reporters. 

When Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) was asked if he should be considered the greatest welterweight of all time should he beat Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) on July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he answered, “of course – hands down.”

One of boxing’s best pound-for-pound stars, the three-division champion Crawford even took his proclamation a step further. 

“Terence Crawford is the greatest fighter of this era,” he said. “I'm just waiting on the days to pass to where I get to get out there and put on a great performance and show everybody why I am the greatest fighter of this era.”

Crawford is 7-0 as a welterweight since 2018 and has stopped all of his opponents., including Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan, Egidijus, Kavaliauskas, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, and David Avanesyan.

The 35-year-old Crawford beat Horn in his first fight at 147 pounds to win the WBO title, a belt he’s held ever since.

“I was made for this moment. Sometimes I didn't really have too much to say because those [previous fights] weren't the actual fights I was gearing toward,” said Crawford. “I've been calling these guys out since I came into the welterweight division and went straight to a title. I didn't want to tune ups and to have easy fights. I wanted all of the top-name fighters. I'll fight anybody that's put in front of me.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.