Errol Spence Jr. drops truth bomb on making Terence Crawford fight: 'Man of my word'

For Errol Spence Jr., fighting Terence Crawford to become the undisputed welterweight champion was the only choice for him in his return.

For Errol Spence Jr., fighting Terence Crawford to become the undisputed welterweight champion was the only choice for him in his return to the ring.

The 33-year-old southpaw shared as much in his recent appearance on ESPN's First Take, noting that the Crawford fight is what he wanted all along. Even though he could have chosen to match up with somebody else before meeting his 35-year-old rival, he opted to wait until things get done instead.

To recall, the fight between the two has been in the works since last year. There have been several times that it looked like it was a done deal until a public breakdown in negotiations happened, with Spence and Crawford unable to agree on revenue splits and rematch terms. Crawford proceeded to shift his focus on a different fight and took on David Avanesyan last December 2022. As for Spence, he has been inactive since his last fight with Yordenis Ugas since April 2022.

“I'm a man of my word… Even staying out the ring a whole year. This is the fight I wanted and I stuck to my guns. I was like, ‘I'm not fighting until I fight Terence Crawford,'” Spence told Stephen A. Smith on the show, which also had Crawford as guest.

Both Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford proceeded to hype their fight in the show, with the latter even saying that he's going for the knockout if he's able to hurt his opponent.

“I don't have a 100% ratio of knockouts in the welterweight division for nothing. Ever since I moved up I became meaner, stronger, punching harder. So of course, if the knockout comes,” Crawford added.

Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. preview upcoming Undisputed Welterweight Championship fight:

Errol Spence on making the Terence Crawford fight: “I'm a man of my word… Even staying out the ring a whole year. This is the fight I wanted and I stuck to my guns. I was like,… pic.twitter.com/N7aT8xiueL

— John (@not_goodname) May 26, 2023

The two fighters have an undefeated record, with Spence carrying a 28-and-0 record with 22 KOs while Crawford boasts 39 wins with 30 knockouts. Sure enough, their fight is expected to make waves and create plenty of headlines.

Spence also promised that they are going to put on a “great show,” which should only make things more interesting.

Spence and Crawford will meet on July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will unify the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight titles.