American WBA super welterweight (154 lbs) champion Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) appears to have fallen into some hot water this past week after making questionable remarks surrounding former opponent Errol Spence Jr.’s achievements.
In an interview on the “Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry” show with former UFC champion Henry Cejudo and current UFC contender Kamaru Usman, Crawford explained his reasoning for determining that Spence would not make the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHF):
“I was a fan of [Errol] Spence,” Crawford said.
“I’m still a fan [and] I hope he does well, but once it got to the point I moved up in weight and I’m in the same weight as Spence, [he] was like, ‘oh man, you ain’t fighting nobody. You this, you that’. So now they’re trying to blemish my accomplishments just to boost him up, and I’m like, dude you’re not going to do that, because I can retire right now and be in the Hall of Fame.
“He [ Spence] couldn’t [be in the Hall of Fame]. Everything that I’ve accomplished, he’s still trying to accomplish.“
Crawford’s opinion appears heavily based on years of antagonizing by Errol Spence Jr. and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) with who Spence was aligned. Though the PBC’s influence has waned over the years, there was a point in history where there was a clear agenda against those not signed with the PBC, and Terence Crawford became one of the main targets of PBC’s strategy to downplay other fighters’ accomplishment in order to boost their own.
This became evident through two individuals, prominently Jermell Charlo who made it a point to debase Crawford’s accomplishments when his name was brought up in an interview. A plethora of other PBC fighters did the same, with Keith Thurman claiming Crawford was barely a champion several years ago, and Gervonta Davis leaving a similar remark regarding Crawford’s ability in a now-deleted Tweet.
Then there’s Errol Spence Jr.’s own infamous moment where he downplayed a fight with Crawford because he had presumably achieved nothing of value in the sport.
When asked on whether Spence would make the International Hall of Fame, Terence Crawford remained uncertain:
“[Do I believe Spence will be in the Hall of Fame] right now? No. How?” Terence Crawford stated.
“He [Spence] fought in one division [and] he unified, but what I’m saying is they already called him a weight bully, [and] he beat a Kell Brook coming off a loss [and] an eye injury. I don’t want to sound like I’m hating but I honestly don’t know if he makes it to the Hall of Fame with the accolades that he got right now.“
Crawford, 37, is a four-weight division, having won world titles at lightweight (135 lbs), super lightweight (140 lbs), welterweight (147 lbs) and super welterweight. In comparison, while Spence has done well at 147 lbs, becoming a world champion in that weight category and unifying twice to hold two belts, Spence’s accomplishments do pale in comparison Crawford.
Crawford’s opinion surrounding Spence does not reflect well on his own accomplishments given Spence is considered one of the most highly-recognized names that Terence Crawford has beaten. While Crawford holds many accolades to his name in the pro’s, certainly more than Spence, he has also been criticized for who he has fought with the fighters on his current resume not amounting to the same level of prestige as the fighters that Spence faced.
However, it should be noted that PBC has developed a reputation for embellishing their own fighters’ accomplish while doing the opposite with that of fighters outside of the PBC; as Crawford has experienced himself.
Furthermore, name recognition does not always translate to fighting ability, and the context of certain fights are largely not taken into account when narratives are created. While Spence did achieve a monumental feat in becoming a world champion by defeating the then-holder of the IBF 147-pound title, Kell Brook, in 2017, Brook was factually coming off a loss to Gennady Golovkin and an orbital bone injury, and the British fighter admitted himself during an interview that he probably should not have taken the fight with Spence at the time.
Spence did go on to unify but struggled against Shawn Porter whose WBC title he won in 2019 as he eked out a split-decision (SD) win. His victory over Yordenis Ugas in 2022 to earn Ugas’ WBA title was significant, especially given Ugas was coming off a win over Manny Pacquiao, but makes it one of Spence’s few noteworthy wins.
Other fights against well-known fighters are quite sparse for Errol Spence, with only a unanimous decision (UD) win over Mikey Garcia, who moved up two weight classes from the 135-pound division, and a points victory over an out-of-prime Danny Garcia in 2020 defining a resume filled with eye-catching names who may have not been at their best when facing Spence.
With the IBHF notably not picky with who gets chosen to be a Hall of Famer, it is likely Spence would be inducted given the likes of Charles Ledoux, Tiger Jack Fox, and Luis Angel Firpo were all included in the International Boxing Hall of Fame despite never having won a single world title.
