Comments Thread For: Crawford Responds to Errol Spence Injury: 'Last I Can Recall We Definitely Get Our Eyes Checked Before Every Fight'

[Oregonian]

I love your take. Love the name drops. And I see what your vantage point is. It's very logical. But you forget, eye test has a lot to do with the style and character of the fighter. Not just his production vs his opponents. Fighters like Pavlik, Khan, Bradley, etc.... they didn't have a style that made the casual fan fall in love with them as a prospect. Beating your opponents aren't isn't enough. Dominating them with a certain style is what markets an individual as "the next......" Look at Adrien Broner.....he never was an extremely dominant individual in the ring, but his character and style led many to believe he could be the successor of Floyd. Today people look at Shakur Stevenson and see his IQ and how he goes about his business as a fighter as being the next p4p King once Crawford rides off into the sunset.

What you pointed out is very logical and true, but we also have the other side which is what pushes the notion of what we know as "the eye test"..... If a fighter is good to above average and looks damn good vs the caliber of opponents they face at that particular point in their career, the public will attach them to a former great who had the style that fighter possesses. And it's usually pushed by the naked eye of a casual fan because most seasoned and knowledgeable boxing fans are able to articulate the difference in what they see from the current fighter and the great they are compared to.

Boots is a hell of a fighter. No one needs to have ultimate knowledge to acknowledge that. But we as fans forget that this sport is as much a business, if not more, than it is about the competitors doing what they do........Boots will never get a shot at Crawford if he can only warrant nickels and dimes being put up for his work in the ring........Crawford hasn't been paid less than a million for a purse in over a decade now. Boots has yet to take home over half a million.

One of 3 things have to happen for Boots to get a Crawford fight today (outside of Spence backing out of a rematch):
-Boots has to become a mandatory for a title held by Crawford.
----->It's possible to happen even if he has a title. These sanctioning bodies are willing to do anything if they can market their belt being in a demanded match up.
-Boots has to poke at Crawford's ego.
----->Crawford is highly competitive. Very prideful. Not saying Boots has to be disrespectful, but he does have to publicly and personally tell Crawford that he is 2nd compared to him. This is how Hank Lundy, Jose Benavidez, & Dierry Jean got their shots at Crawford. Neither of them were even on his radar, but opened their mouth publically (and personally in a couple cases) about Crawford catching his attention.
-Crawford has to be willing to take a significant pay cut in order to help catapult Ennis into stardom
----->As much as we as boxing fans would love to see this fight.........most don't know anything about Jaron Ennis or his potential. It's easy for one of us to say he's a big name in the sport because we know who we should be paying attention to, but truthfully, if Ennis was close to being a star, he would have at the very least headlined a major ticket by now and gotten a purse worth stating they are the A-Side vs any opponent not named Crawford. Hell, if he was to fight Keith Thurman, he would be the B-side simply because of what Thurman would bring in marketing the fight.

Any of those things happen on Boots end......politics go out the window and we as fans get to enjoy this fight that could possibly be the bridging of 2 great eras of boxing.

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You just reminded me of Broner. Damn!!! He sure did pass the Eye Test and was anointed the next Floyd. Broner sabotaged himself. He could have had a ATG great career just by fighting at 126, 130 & 135.
You are right, there are other Uber important factors to factor in that I didn’t think of.

My main thing which you touched on is Boots needs to step up to Bud the same way Tarver stepped up to Roy. Tarver hijacked Roy Jones’ multiple press conferences until Roy had either no choice or felt the need to prove something by giving Tarver a shot.

[Str8.2.Da.Point]

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You just reminded me of Broner. Damn!!! He sure did pass the Eye Test and was anointed the next Floyd. Broner sabotaged himself. He could have had a ATG great career just by fighting at 126, 130 & 135.
You are right, there are other Uber important factors to factor in that I didn’t think of.

My main thing which you touched on is Boots needs to step up to Bud the same way Tarver stepped up to Roy. Tarver hijacked Roy Jones’ multiple press conferences until Roy had either no choice or felt the need to prove something by giving Tarver a shot.

Exactly.....That was apart of boxing. Being able to make it known that you want the fight vs a formidable opponent and forcing their fans to question them on why they won't take the fight. Fighters today don't do this anymore. They either claim to be avoided though they haven't went through any of the appropriate channels to make the fight. Or they get simply disrespectful of the other fighter's existence in the sport. The new generation is extremely corny with how they go about things.

Tarver made himself Roy's only option by making the public and his fans want to see him either shut Tarver up, or question why he hasn't accepted the challenge. As competitors, no top dog wants the public questioning their heart and competitive nature. That's what you build your name on.


And yea, Broner hurt himself by trying to reach too far outside his physical abilities. 140lbs was pushing it. 147lbs should have never been a destination for him. I think at 135lbs he could have been one of the greats by the end of his career.

[Oregonian]

Exactly.....That was apart of boxing. Being able to make it known that you want the fight vs a formidable opponent and forcing their fans to question them on why they won't take the fight. Fighters today don't do this anymore. They either claim to be avoided though they haven't went through any of the appropriate channels to make the fight. Or they get simply disrespectful of the other fighter's existence in the sport. The new generation is extremely corny with how they go about things.

Tarver made himself Roy's only option by making the public and his fans want to see him either shut Tarver up, or question why he hasn't accepted the challenge. As competitors, no top dog wants the public questioning their heart and competitive nature. That's what you build your name on.


And yea, Broner hurt himself by trying to reach too far outside his physical abilities. 140lbs was pushing it. 147lbs should have never been a destination for him. I think at 135lbs he could have been one of the greats by the end of his career.

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Truer words have never been spoken.

“Tarver made himself Roy's only option …” You have no idea how much I disliked this guy. Not just for beating Roy but because he went on to lose his very next fighter after beating the great Roy.

[SUBZER0ED]

2 things can be true. Spence can have health issues, but he lost because Crawford is the better fighter. That said, Bud needs to stop acting like he defeated Tommy Hearns.

You got Ennis and Teo calling you out. Talk your ish and put them on notice! Challenge 1 or both of them to sack up and meet you in the ring, foo.

This isn't rocket science. I see what Arum was talking about.

Sell yourself and help sell the f'n fights!

I mostly agree with you, except about Teo. That guy is talking out of his ass. He wouldn't fight Crawford if Bud knocked on his door and call him a bitch to his face.

[SUBZER0ED]

“Any boxer would know that. But casual fans will say and make up anything.”

But it's not casual fans saying this, it's Spence himself.

[Legends456]

It seems like Spence is one of those people who sadly will never be quite 100% ever again (after the accident I mean).

[Str8.2.Da.Point]

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Truer words have never been spoken.

“Tarver made himself Roy's only option …” You have no idea how much I disliked this guy. Not just for beating Roy but because he went on to lose his very next fighter after beating the great Roy.

LOL....ironically I had the same exact feeling towards him for the same reason. But I had the opportunity of meeting him about a decade back. He's actually a knowledgeable individual and extremely respectful of boxing fans. He talked to me and my partners for almost 2 hours on his match up specifically with Roy, boxing, and his desire to continue to stay involved in the sport either through commentating, training, and/or scouting.

I kind of see his accomplishment vs RJJ as...."regardless of the opponents resume, I only have to be great this night"......and he went out and did that. That's just how upsets happen. Be great in THAT MOMENT. There's a lot of underdogs in history who was able to do this and make history

[Oregonian]

LOL....ironically I had the same exact feeling towards him for the same reason. But I had the opportunity of meeting him about a decade back. He's actually a knowledgeable individual and extremely respectful of boxing fans. He talked to me and my partners for almost 2 hours on his match up specifically with Roy, boxing, and his desire to continue to stay involved in the sport either through commentating, training, and/or scouting.

I kind of see his accomplishment vs RJJ as...."regardless of the opponents resume, I only have to be great this night"......and he went out and did that. That's just how upsets happen. Be great in THAT MOMENT. There's a lot of underdogs in history who was able to do this and make history

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That’s a cool story. I got over it afterwards because of the same reason. Tarver actually said that, he said he was never going to have a career as great as Roy nor even beat some of the guys Roy beat but he swore to himself that he would beat Roy no matter what.

I have a kind of similar story. I met Winky Wright just before he fought Trinidad (I even have a picture with him) and he says the same thing. I knew he was going to beat Tito and told him my reasons. He was very respectful too.

[hhh1200]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but it looks like Crawford is targeting Tim Tszyu. As I said, if you are going to fight Canelo, you need to fight a boxer-puncher like him somewhere around 154–160, preferably on the road if possible, so you can mimic the environment. Reports are starting to pop up. Let the Ennis fanboys start ranting.

I wouldn't waste 50 mins listening to Bernie but he is in Crawford's camp.

Trainer Bernie Davis, aka ‘BernieTha Boxer,’ says Terence Crawford could be challenging unbeaten WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu for his title this year in a mega-fight. Crawford’s rematch with Errol Spence Jr. has gone by the wayside, with the eye problems that the Texas native suffered last year. So, Terence (40-0, 31 KOs) is moving on to what’s next, and that could be a title fight against Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs). There have been rumors that the Saudis are potentially interested in staging the Crawford vs. Tszyu contest, which would be ideal for both fighters. Having Crawford & Tszyu battle under the lights in the desert in Saudi Arabia would be outstanding.

If the Saudis are dropping the bread it is probably going to happen.

Take your diapers of Ennis and move up to 154 with the big boys.

[Str8.2.Da.Point]

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That’s a cool story. I got over it afterwards because of the same reason. Tarver actually said that, he said he was never going to have a career as great as Roy nor even beat some of the guys Roy beat but he swore to himself that he would beat Roy no matter what.

I have a kind of similar story. I met Winky Wright just before he fought Trinidad (I even have a picture with him) and he says the same thing. I knew he was going to beat Tito and told him my reasons. He was very respectful too.

I've always wanted to meet Winky. I remember trying my hardest to get tickets to see him in the Sugar Shane rematch. Long story short, I got my feelings hurt....lol. Couldn't even watch the fight live. Had to watch it a week later.

I feel like he is a damn good fighter who's name doesn't come up enough when talking about great southpaws.