Errol Spence Jr. recently paid a visit to the Dallas Cowboys to watch his favorite football team up close. 

The Texas native Spence has headlined shows at AT&T Stadium, the palatial home arena of the Cowboys in Arlington, as well as The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, the practice facility for the Cowboys, in four out of his last five fights.

Spence joked with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that he was willing to help his hometown team end their Super Bowl drought by playing his former positions of cornerback or safety, but Jones quipped back that he only had an opening at kicker. 

Although Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) was in NFL mode, he reached for a basketball comparison between legends to better describe his highly anticipated welterweight clash against Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) on July 29.

“It's a little bit difficult [making the welterweight limit]. But I'm not complaining at all. I know what I signed up for. It's time to put the work in and get down to the weight that we agreed on. I'm going to fight my heart out,” Spence told a group of reporters.  

“I feel like, just, I'm the stronger fighter. I feel like I am more durable, especially if we stand there and we just go at it. I just have the better fundamentals. I am the Tim Duncan of boxing,” 

“I have all of the fundamentals. The jab, the hook, blocking, whatever it is. I can do everything right. I'm going to be the better fighter overall. He has a lot of talent and skills. He can move. If I compare it to basketball, it's like Tim Duncan versus Kevin Garnett.” 

It appears Spence did thorough research to make sure he had the hypothetical upper hand before comparing the two basketball Hall of Famers to himself and Crawford, even if the San Antonio Spurs great Duncan’s nickname of “The Big Fundamental” was given due to his boring yet dominant style of play. 

According to LandOfBasketball.com, Duncan and Garnett played against each other a total of 52 times from 1997 to 2016. Duncan had a 33-19 record over Garnett, including a 6-2 record in the postseason.

Their statistical averages against one another were nearly identical. 

Duncan averaged 19.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game playing against Garnett. Garnett averaged 19.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game playing against Duncan. 

Overall, during his 19-year career, Duncan was a five-time NBA champion, 15-time All-Star, and two-time league MVP. In his 21-year career, Garnett won an NBA title and league MVP and was also a 15-time All-Star. 

Spence versus Crawford is considered a 50-50 matchup, perhaps like a one-on-one battle between Duncan and Garnett. 

Spence-Crawford will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to headline a PBC on Showtime pay-per-view card.

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.