Via Huck Allen: Tim Bradley got a little gloated last Saturday night when he said I told you so after WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (38-0.29 KOs) prevented the former champion 147-lb ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs) on ESPN+ PPV at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Bradley predicted the win for the 34-year-old Omaha, Crawford, hometown of Nebraska, and it made him feel happy because it turned out he was right with his prediction for their fight.
Now, we’ll soon find out if Bradley was right with his remarks about Crawford and Porter not doing the right things to sell their fight on ESPN PPV. Some believe their fight will result in poor PPV numbers.
Indeed, Boxing Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn announced last Friday that the organizers of the Crawford vs. Porter will take a shower lose money, as he expected this event will only bring 100,000 PPV buy.
It would be a nightmare if the Crawford-Porter incident delivered such numbers, making it nearly impossible for Terence to get the fight he wanted against Errol Spence Jr.
Porter did everything possible
“I think both fights are great, but I think the one that people want to see is Spence,” Tim Bradley told Fight Hub TV, saying that Bob Arum wants to fight Crawford against Spence Jr or Josh Taylor next.
“Of course, it’s the fight everyone wants, but there’s a lot of things that can complicate things like Spence’s health, his eyes,” Bradley said.
“I just want Crawford to get the respect he deserves. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Bradley said when asked if he thought Crawford was #1 at 147. “ Spence, Thurman, all struggled with Porter, and they did, and Crawford did. struggled with Porter a bit.
“Kid [Porter] had a great game plan, he had a lot of experience, and he put it to good use and his athleticism. But for the most part, Crawford was able to nullify a lot of what he did.
“He’s taller, he’s longer, and the one thing that I pointed out he couldn’t do, he did late in the game. When you’re late in a fight and fatigue starts to kick in, you’ll start to make more mistakes.
“When he [Porter] was patient, and he was outside and used his quickness to get behind the impact, and I’m talking about Porter, he did a very, very good job.
“He did very well, and he often landed with his right hand, at the top. He went inside, letting go of one hand as the other was tied.
“And he did everything he could, but that shows you how great Terence is. The cream always comes to the top,” adds Bradley.
Porter has tried his best, but he has been mostly inactive since his loss to Spence in September 2019 and he has never proven himself capable of beating elite boxers. Kell Brook, Spence, Keith Thurman and Yordenis Ugas all defeated Porter.
Yes, we know that Porter technically beat Ugas, but if you watched that match, you’ll agree with the referee who gave Ugas a 117-111 score.
Ugas did a better job against Porter than Crawford, Spence and Thurman, except for the knockouts.
My point is, Porter has a history of losing against a top competitor in the welterweight division, so it’s no surprise he was stopped by Crawford last Saturday night.
Porter has never been this good, and the penalty he took on Spence in 2019 took something of him.
When you add in Porter’s inactivity since his loss to Spence, it is predictable that he will lose to Crawford by knockout after taking a breather in the championship rounds.
Tim says Crawford = #1 at 147, stop Spence
“I know it will be very difficult. No one doubts Shawn’s toughness, but I only know what Terence can do because I’m already in the ring with him. [sparring],” Bradley said. “I have been saying this for the past ten years.
“This child [Crawford] is the worst man on the planet. He’s my #1 pound-for-pound; put it that way. After this competition, the Welterweight division is the best division in boxing, the most talented weight class in boxing.
“Shawn Porter joined with that talent, and none of it stopped him. Based on what I’ve seen, there’s no doubt. I said that Spence was eliminated [by Crawford], and I was told that Crawford does too many things.
“He’ll find a way to take Spence down,‘ Bradley said. “Other styles. Spence isn’t as fast as Shawn, he’s not small and a bit taller. I would say he’s really technical; he stays behind the stab. If Crawford gets past that stab, Spence will.” What will be?
“That’s the thing. What does Spence have when he [Crawford] get over that bump? I still want to see it, though. I wish the war had happened a few years ago, to be honest with you,” Bradley said.
There isn’t any argument from anyone at this point as to whether Crawford should be considered the #1 welder weight in this department.
No one is saying Crawford isn’t the #1 boxer at 147 as Spence no longer hopes to be considered the top dog in the league due to his inactivity, injury, weight problems and car accident. he.
Crawford defaulted to 1st place in welding because Spence had recently failed to do the right things to be considered the 147th leader.
When you fight every 15 months, like Spence, you can’t claim to be number one in welterweight.
Bradley doesn’t want Spence to make excuses
“I wish it had happened a few years ago because before the accident happened and all that,” Bradley said. “So that way, there will be no excuses [from Spence]. If they get into a fight and Crawford runs over him, people, ‘Spence was in a car accident.’
“When they [Crawford and Spence] fight, I don’t want no excuses. Do you know what I mean? I don’t want NO excuses from anyone. And tonight, it proved that he [Crawford] guy number 1, that proved.
“He is number one in the welterweight division, and I have said this for a long time. But hey, sometimes you have to witness and see with your own eyes. Do you believe now? “Bradley said.
In fact, there WILL be a reason if Spence loses to Crawford, and there certainly is. Spence has put his body through the plumbing with car accidents, trauma, weight gain between fights, and eye injuries.
The yo-yo diet that Spence couldn’t get was good for his health, and it’s disappointing that he lets himself do it the same way as Keith Thurman does between competitions.
It was too late for Crawford to take on 31-year-old Spence without excuses from boxing fans and Errol’s team.
Terrible witches caused Spence’s gruesome car crash in October 2019, the injury to his torn retina and the inactivity he’s faced over the past two years makes it impossible to There might be no excuse if Crawford beats him.
Spence rarely fights these days
At this point, the excuses will be valid because Spence is not the same fighter as he was more than 2 years ago.
We saw in Spence’s last game 11 months ago against Danny Garcia in December 2020 that he lost something from his game. Spence wasn’t as explosive as he used to be and he was hit a lot by Danny with punches throughout the match.
By the time Spence fights in February or March 20022, he will be out of the ring for 14 to 15 months and you can bet he won’t be sharp.
Before Errol’s fight with Danny last December, he had been out of the ring for 15 months since his match against Porter in September 2019. So at this point, Spence currently fights every 15 monthss, doesn’t work for elite level fighters.
Spence has become the version of the heavyweight division Gary Russell Jr, with him fighting not even on an annual basis.
Assuming Spence wins that match, who knows how long it will take for him to return to the ring for the next fight. It’ll be 15 months before we see Spence again? It wouldn’t be surprising.
If Spence will be out for another year or so before a rematch, how sharp can you expect him to be against Crawford?
