Via Dan Ambrose: Teddy Atlas says he’s leaning in the direction of Terence Crawford to beat uniformedweight champion Errol Spence Jr if/when the two of them fight this year.
Atlas was wowed by Crawford’s performance against Yuriorkis Gamboa in 2014. During that match, Crawford was handed over to him by the great Cuban man who was at the end of his time.
Atlas notes that Crawford was stunned by Gamboa at one point in the fight, but he had the intelligence to back off and switch stances. The way Crawford recovered while severely wounded impressed Atlas enough to feel his instincts were what separated him from Spence.
If Spence does hurt Crawford, it might be a bit more difficult for the Nebraska native as he hits harder than Gamboa, who was fighting outside his natural weight division at light weight at the time he fought. with Terence at lightweight.
“The contract does not fight. People fight, and until it’s signed on the dotted line, it’s still not a war,” said Teddy Atlas. The struggleabout the clash between Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford.
“You’ve got Spence, who is the horse. He’s naturally heavier. Crawford moved up in three different weight classes and won titles. Surprised. He has the skeleton to do it. Not everyone did that. Pacquiao did it. It’s not normal. He made it.
“He was so special; both are special. Spence is strong and a well-built puncher. He can be pressurized but can also be boxed. Don’t miss that boat. Don’t miss that about him. That’s how he beat Mikey Garcia with such ease.
“He used his stab; he can box. He’s an Olympic athlete, and he’s technically solid. He can box, he can counterattack, he can do it. Yes, he’s aggressive for the most part, but he can also be boxy. He has skill, and he has technique.
“A lot of people think that only Crawford has that. Spence has that. Spence must be as aggressive as possible when it makes sense. He’ll close the box when it makes sense; use my jab. Everything is out of his shot. The fundamentals, honey.
“Again, determination, toughness, physicality. He tries to impose his physicality on you. He put water in the basement, went to the body, and up and down. He was wonderful. He knows how to put them together.
“Crawford is really solid technically. He doesn’t shake hands as well as Spence. He’s a little looser, but he’ll get up when they have to. Maybe sometimes you can time him when he backs off.
“You have to be willing to take the opportunity to do that, and you have to be on time. I think, not that the guy is naturally bigger, but he is carrying his strength. Crawford, he can do anything.
“He can go pick you up. He likes to control range with jabs, and he can counterattack with the best of them. When he has to go into the kitchen with the heat, he can go into yours.
“He has the structure to do that, and he brings his strength with him. He can use his ring and feet when he has to. If he has to get and use his leg, he can get and use his leg.
“He’s also a brainy guy. All the top guys are like that. He has all the abilities and techniques. This is where he is different. He might be the best hitter since Mickey Mantle. That’s Crawford.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better switcher. He can go left or right and not miss a beat. Andre Ward is also a great tackler. Crawford is incredible in that regard. So he has those options.
“This is where he splits. I have seen a lot of fighters. I have seen great fighters. I have seen it all. Sugar Ray Robinson, everyone. He probably has the best instincts of any boxer, Crawford, I’ve ever seen. He just instinctively and innately knows what to do at the right time, and great people know that.
“I once did a show with him on ESPN where I parted the series with him. We went into a studio with a ring, and we got into the ring and broke it on camera and got in the ring and showed it.
“I showed when he was tested by Gamboa on the way to promotion. A former world champion and was a little over it at the time. He is a Cuban boxer from the great Olympic teams. He won a gold medal and has great hand speed and great strength.
“He is a featherweight and has moved up to fight Crawford. It was Crawford’s first real test, and he injured Crawford. Crawford won, but he injured him.
“In the last part of the fight, he injured himself. I watched it, and I saw something, and when I was getting ready for the show. I’m at home and breaking it. I said, ‘I have to look at this again.’
“He took an orthodox stance, and he injured his right hand and was wounded. As he staggered back, his legs spread out slightly. As he staggered back, he switched to Southpaw.
“It was not an accident. He kept his wits about him and instinctively moved away from the orthodox nampaw for two reasons. One, he won’t be vulnerable with his right hand, and two, he will have to counter his left hook where Gamboa is looking for his right hand right now. He knows that.
“He can have a slightly happy right hand and a slightly fat right hand, a little loose with it, a little greedy if you will, and reach in and take risks with it.
“When I shared it with Crawford, he said, ‘This is the first time I’ve seen it.’ It’s instinct; that is special. That is not taught. That is special.
“Not everyone gets there. That’s what separates this man, and that’s why I had to pick him in that fight, as much as I love them both. I love Spence. It’s the edge; That’s the difference. It’s going to be a hell of a battle, and I hope it’s done.
“Let’s say, they’ve agreed to some key terms, but it hasn’t been implemented yet. I think it will be done. Hopefully, not in three years, like some wars ended five years too late.
“They are still in their prime, these people. They’re getting older, but they’re still in their prime. It’s not late yet. It must be completed now. It’s the fight you want to see.
“I haven’t seen such a heavyweight fight with this kind of build and prediction since the ’80s when you had Hearns. It reminds me of that. It reminds me of Leonard and Hearns.
“You had that game in the ’80s. First of all, you had network television where people could watch it for free, basically for the most part. Some of them went to the closed circuit.
“You have that element, and you have special warriors. The difference back then was that you had lifelong talent, but they fought each other. That’s what you don’t get today. That was the 80’s difference. They fought each other.
“They tested that amazing talent against each other with the best. I hope we get this one. It reminds me of the anticipation for the first Hearns-Leonard fight in the 80s,” Atlas said.
