By: Hans Themistode
Following nearly two years sequestered on the sidelines, Errol Spence Jr. provided a reminder of sorts to the boxing world, that he is in fact, the best fighter that the welterweight division has to offer.
This Past Saturday night, on April 16th, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Spence Jr. dismantled durable former champion, Yordenis Ugas. Despite being rocked in both the fourth and sixth rounds, Spence Jr. regained his composure in the second half of their contest.
Ugas’s world championship reign began slipping away from him in the seventh as Spence Jr. landed a short uppercut on the inside. The force of the blow immediately closed the left eye of the Cuban product. Round after round, Spence Jr. pounded Ugas with shots to the body before targeting his injured eye, forcing a ringside physician to step onto the apron and call a halt to their contest.
But, despite Spence Jr. now holding firm to three of the four major world titles at 147 pounds, former two-time champion Shawn Porter, is unwilling to give Spence Jr. top dog status in the welterweight division. That distinction, in his opinion, is reserved for a certain fighter that he shared the ring with from Omaha, Nebraska.
“The best welterweight fighting right now has to be Terence Crawford,” said Porter during an interview with Brian Custer on the Last Stand Podcast. “There was just a number of things that I saw, felt, sensed, the whole nine. He was just a little better than just about anybody I been in the ring with.”
Known for his willingness to step into the ring with any and everyone when he was an active fighter, Porter pushed both Spence Jr. and Crawford to their physical limits in both 2019 and 2021.
At times, the rough and rugged style of Porter forced Spence Jr. into a firefight before ultimately losing via split decision. Against Crawford, Porter’s roughhouse tactics were less effective. While he did experience moments of success, the former two-time 147-pound champion crumbled underneath the power of his man, losing via 10th-round stoppage.
It was the small intricacies in their approach to fighting him that Porter remembers more than anything.
“Coming into the ring, Errol was prepared to beat me at my game. Terence was prepared to beat me at his game.”
With the boxing world clamoring for the two to square off in the ring, Spence Jr. has repeatedly called out Crawford following his victory over Ugas, something the Omaha, Nebraska, product has openly welcomed.
Although stylistically, a showdown between Crawford and Spence Jr. has the makings of a fan-pleasing bout, throughout the history of the pugilistic sport, there have been many mouthwatering matchups that have turned into mundane chess matches. During this particular matchup, however, Porter believes we’ll witness one of the more memorable showdowns in recent memory.
“Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence will be an explosion. I can guarantee it. Errol likes to be a commander and chief. He likes to control the ring, likes to do what he likes to do. Against me, he choose to try and beat me at my own game. Terence, ‘I’m coming to the ring, this is what I’m gonna do, stop me.’ You got two guys saying stop me, you can’t beat that.”
