After years of buildup, ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound men’s boxer, Terence Crawford and No. 4 Errol Spence Jr., will finally square off on Saturday, July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in one of the most anticipated fights in men’s boxing.
The 12-round fight for Spence’s WBC, WBA and IBF tittles and Crawford’s WBO will be the first bout for all four major welterweight belts in boxing history.
Both fighters will be making their first appearance in the ring this year. Crawford last beat David Avanesyan by sixth-round knockout in December 2022 and Spence beat Yordenis Ugas by tenth-round TKO in April 2022.
Here is a look at the numbers behind Spence and Crawford’s paths to this historic title fight, starting with the seemingly never-ending buildup to this matchup officially being booked.
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Crawford, Spence exchange words
Backstage at the Hooker-Saucedo fight, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. get into an argument that ends with Crawford saying he could knock out Spence.
57: Next week we are getting one of the most anticipated boxing matches of the last five years, but it didn’t always seem like this matchup would come to fruition. Crawford and Spence have been beefing for almost five years. The talks of a potential fight between these two started after they were seen arguing backstage at the Maurice Hooker vs. Alex Saucedo fight on Nov. 16, 2018. On Saturday, nearly 57 months since discussions of a potential matchup between the fighters began, the two will finally get a chance to settle it.
67-0: Spence and Crawford are two of the best in the sport, and their records back that up. The fighters enter the bout with a combined record of 67-0 and a combined 52 wins by knockout. Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) suffered his last loss as an amateur in 2012, and Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) was last defeated as an amateur in 2007.
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Crawford: My goal is to become undisputed welterweight champ
Terence “Bud” Crawford says when people look back at the best welterweights ever, Errol Spence Jr. and his name will be mentioned.
2: If Crawford beats Spence, this would be his second time claiming an undisputed title. In August 2018, Crawford beat Julius Indongo to win the undisputed junior welterweight title, but he never defended the title. Instead, he vacated the belts to move up to 147 pounds.
If he wins the welterweight undisputed title, he would be the first men’s fighter in the four-belt era to become an undisputed champ in two divisions. Claressa Shields was the first two-division undisputed champion in women’s boxing.
Two is also the number of opponent’s faces Spence broke in his quest to become the undisputed welterweight champion. In 2017, Spence beat Kell Brook by KO in Round 11. He broke Brook’s orbital bone to win that fight and claim the IBF title. And, most recently, Spence broke Yordenis Ugas’ orbital bone to pick up a KO win in Round 10 and claim the WBA belt. A broken orbital bone is one of the rarest injuries in the sport. To win two titles in that manner proves just how powerful Spence is and the ability he has.
Brook is one of the two opponents Spence and Crawford have both faced. Spence fought Brook in May 2017, and Crawford also beat him by knockout in November 2020. The other opponent both fighters have squared off with is Shawn Porter. Spence beat Porter by split decision in September 2019. Crawford beat Porter by TKO in November 2021.
0: It’s widely known that these two fighters are undefeated, but in addition to their spotless records, they have another “zero” in common. Neither fighter has ever been knocked down in a fight. While some opponents have come close (Ugas against Spence last April, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas against Crawford in 2019), none of them were able to score a knockdown on the champions.
7: Crawford is one of seven men’s fighters to win titles at lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. The only other fighters to do so are Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Adrien Broner, Pernell Whitaker and Barney Ross.
On the other hand, Spence is one of seven members of the 12-member 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team that went on to win a boxing world title. The other members of that team to win a title are Shields, Marlen Esparza, Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr., Jose Ramirez, Rau’Shee Warren and Jamel Herring.
100: Both of these fighters are knockout artists. However, while both have piled up more than 20 KOs a piece, only one has finished each of his opponents at welterweight. Entering this fight, Crawford has knocked out 100 percent of the fighters (7) he has faced at 147 pounds. During this run, Crawford has knocked out Brook, a former IBF champ and middleweight title challenger, Porter, a former WBC champ and Jeff Horn a former WBO champ.
Crawford also won his last three fights at junior welterweight by knockout as well. He is currently riding a 10-fight knockout streak.
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Spence: Fight with Crawford is a ‘legacy defining fight’
Errol Spence Jr. discusses how his upcoming fight with Terence Crawford will impact their legacies in boxing.
422: Just weeks after beating Porter to claim the WBC title, Spence was involved in a car accident that nearly derailed what went on to be a very successful boxing career. On October 10, 2019, Spence wrecked his Ferrari in Dallas, an accident that left him hospitalized and in critical condition. Due to injuries suffered from the car crash, Spence was unable to return to the ring for 422 days. He made his return against Danny Garcia on December 5, 2020.
1: Spence and Crawford both claimed their first-ever world titles in England. A rare feat, considering many Americans who travel to the U.K. for a title fight often return home without the belt. Even earlier in their professional boxing career, Spence and Crawford were making waves.
Also, while there is a high probability that the winner of this fight will be crowned boxing’s pound-for-pound king, it’s worth noting that there is one more fighter who could also stake their claim as the best in the sport with a win next week. Naoya Inoue, ESPN’s No. 2 P4P fighter, will make his junior featherweight debut on Jul. 25 in a title fight against WBC and WBO champion Stephen Fulton. If Inoue wins that fight, he could also have a case to be the new No. 1.
9: Spence vs. Crawford will be the ninth undisputed title unification bout across men’s and women’s boxing this year. Here’s a list of the other undisputed title fights we’ve had in the sport so far in 2023:
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Women’s featherweight: Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz on Feb. 4; Serrano won by unanimous decision
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Women’s junior lightweight: Alycia Baumgardner vs. Elhem Mekhaled Feb. 4; Baumgarnder won by unanimous decision
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Men’s super middleweight: Canelo Alvarez vs. John Rider on May 6; Alvarez won by unanimous decision
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Women’s junior welterweight: Chantelle Cameron vs. Katie Taylor on May 20; Cameron won by majority decision
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Men’s lightweight: Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko May 20; Haney won by unanimous decision
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Women’s middleweight: Claressa Shields vs. Maricela Cornejo Jun. 3; Shields won by unanimous decision
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Women’s super middleweight: Franchon Crews-Dezurn vs. Savannah Marshall on Jul. 1; Marshall won by majority decision
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Women’s junior lightweight: Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou on Jul. 15; Baumgarnder won by unanimous decision