Errol Spence Jr.: record, next fight and profile →
The trainer of former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. denies that weight issues were the cardinal problem in his client’s disastrous outing against Terence Crawford.
Just a few months ago, Errol Spence Jr. was considered a pound-for-pound luminary, an unquestioned star, and one of the best fighters on the planet. Now, however, many are taking back their praise.
Terence Crawford apparently still has a significant chip on his shoulder. The now former undisputed welterweight champion from Omaha, Nebraska, couldn’t help but notice the attitude of some fans (or critics) toward him after the International Boxing Federation stripped him of his 147-pound title last week for his inability to comply with a mandatory defense against top-rated contender Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
No one knows Errol Spence Jr. quite like Derrick James. The world-renowned trainer has been there from the very beginning. From teaching Spence how to throw the jab to showing him how to work on the inside, to successfully guiding him to three world titles in the welterweight division - the constant has been James.
Raise your hand if you believed that Mario Barrios would take care of business against Yordenis Ugas. Most weren’t expecting the 28-year-old to do much on September 30th. Sure Barrios is talented. He is, after all, a former 140-pound secondary titleholder, and has enough skills to trouble anyone. But for all of his abilities, in the two biggest moments of his career, he came up incredibly short.
Some thought that Brian “Bomac” McIntyre was merely sticking up for his man. The world-renowned trainer, however, claimed that wasn’t the case. Having watched Errol Spence Jr. closely over the years, Bomac simply couldn’t understand why anyone thought he was on the same playing field as Terence Crawford.
It’s been fun to play around with the idea. Two future Hall of Famers and pound-for-pound stars still at the top of their games going at it? Who wouldn’t want to see it? Unfortunately for us, 21 pounds of weight have prevented Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez from jumping into the ring with one another. But, after cleaning up the welterweight division, Crawford is in search of the biggest challenges and paydays. Both just so happened to be associated with Alvarez.
There’s simply no other way around it, Errol Spence Jr. was dominated by Terence Crawford. With both viewed as pound-for-pound stars operating on the highest level, fans and media pundits were split right down the middle in terms of who would win. Was Spence too big and too strong or was Crawford too skillful for the former unified welterweight champion? Those questions were painfully answered on July 29th.
To some, the resume of Terence Crawford was completely laughable. A win over Julius Indongo allowed Crawford to become an undisputed champion at 140 pounds. A victory over Jeff Horn netted him a world title in his third division. Grabbing a win over Ricky Burns was also salient, as it began his run as a full-fledged champion.
For the most part, fans weren’t too invested in the contractual status of Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. After waiting years for the two pound-for-pound stars to get it on, most were simply happy that their longtime rivalry was finally coming to an end. With that said, there were a few surface-level details that were revealed, such as a bilateral rematch clause as well as a possible new weight class for their possible sequel.