From the moment Terence Crawford made his way to the welterweight division in 2018, Derrick James had a strong hunch that both he and his unified star, Errol Spence Jr., would eventually have to meet in the ring.
Thus far, both fighters have held up their ends of the bargain. With the Dallas product recently scoring a 10th-round stoppage victory over Yordenis Ugas while snagging his WBA welterweight title in the process, the powerful southpaw has engaged in talks with team Crawford to fully unify the division.
Although Crawford’s reign as WBO champion has been a dominant one, he’s long been chastised for his level of opposition. But, regardless of the Omaha, Nebraska, native taking on lesser-known foes, James has always been impressed by the manner in which he’s handled them in the ring. As the former trainer of the year continues to break down Crawford’s impressive attributes, he can’t help but praise him with superlative words.
“Crawford’s a great fighter,” said James to Airshow Sports. “You just gotta be able to deal with his speed and his athleticism. It’s a big task.”
Since conquering both the 135 and 140-pound divisions, Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) has been arguably even more dominant during his welterweight run. Despite facing larger and stronger men, the now 34-year-old has stopped every welterweight opponent he’s faced, including the normally durable Shawn Porter in his latest ring outing.
By and large, while subjective, Crawford’s name usually protrudes at the very top of nearly pound-for-pound list, a sentiment James has no issue with. Having fought some of the best fighters that the 147-pound division has to offer, the world-renowned trainer knows good and well that a showdown against Crawford presents an assortment of issues. Still, even with numerous Hall of Fame fighters believing that the chips are stacked against Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), James is anxious to prove that his unified star is more than ready to topple Crawford.
“It’s a phenomenal task but we're up for the task.”