True 50/50 fights have become so rare in modern boxing main events. Sure, there is occasionally a fight where fans may think the underdog has a better chance than he's getting credit for, but to see a fight with odds as tight as Saturday's matchup between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford doesn't happen very often. The pair of welterweight champions will meet to crown the first undisputed, four-belt titleholder of the modern era on Saturday night inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
While the hostility is still there, including between the two families and fanbases as both have continued to chirp all week long at one another, both men remained cordial at the weigh-ins. After Spence and Crawford hit the mark of 147 pounds, they shook hands for the final faceoff. While they still threw out a couple of final thoughts to the other, there was no pushing or shoving as they know it will all be settled in the ring come Saturday night.
"This fight is happening at the right time. All the belts are on the line, so there's even more to fight for," Crawford said. "This solidifies everything. This is the fight that boxing needs. With the magnitude and the stage and just everything that's surrounding this fight, yes I needed Errol. But legacy-wise, I had already accomplished a lot and was already a Hall of Famer. This win is the cherry on top for me."
CBS Sports will also have live coverage of the fight with round-by-round scoring and blow-by-blow updates to keep you up to date throughout the night.
From the time such a big fight is even a rumor, everyone wants to know who the biggest names in the sport are picking to emerge as the winner. For months, some of the biggest and best fighters, trainers and analysts on the planet have been sharing their picks for who emerges on top when Crawford and Spence go toe-to-toe to crown the first undisputed welterweight champion in the four-belt era.
To get you prepared, we pooled those predictions to find out who holds the advantage entering the match.
Let's get to it.
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Terence Crawford wins
Oscar De La Hoya, promoter and six division former world champion: "I've got Crawford. I think he's a little more elusive. I mean Spence is amazing, I promoted him for most of his career, I thought he was going to be the next Sugar Ray Leonard. But I've got Crawford. He's elusive, he throws more combinations, he has better footwork. But who knows, you never know in boxing. Spence is strong, he's a big kid, but I think he's too robotic. When he catches you, he'll knock you out. I just think Crawford moves around a little more and can dodge the punches." [via The Breakfast Club]
Manny Pacquiao, eight division former world champion: "The style advantage. Crawford has that advantage against Spence. It depends how they prepare for the fight. I don't think [it ends in a knockout]. it's gonna be a 12-round decision." [via ESNEWS]
Oleksandr Usyk, current unified heavyweight champion: "It's a great fight. I like Terence. He's a great boxer. I think Terence wins. That's my opinion." [via FightHype]
Teddy Atlas, legendary trainer and analyst: "Crawford. First of all, he's carried his power up. Spence is a beast. He's big, he's the more natural welterweight, he's a good body puncher and he's got an underrated jab -- he's technically very solid. It sounds like I'm picking him. But Crawford might be the most instinctive fighter I've ever seen. He's one of the only guys in this era of fighters who creates his own tunes. And one other thing, he's a freaking junkyard dog." [via The Last Stand]
Amir Khan, former unified junior welterweight champion and former Crawford opponent: "I've got Terence winning that fight, unanimously. Not by stoppage, because Spence is a tough and tricky fighter. He just breaks down a fight so easily, does Crawford. I remember, even with the speed I had and throwing combinations, he was making me miss by inches. Then he'd lean back and catch me every time. He's so precise and his timing is on point. He's probably one of the best fighters I've ever seen, he reminds me a bit of Andre Ward." [via Fight Hub TV]
Shawn Porter, two-time former welterweight champion and former Crawford and Spence opponent: "Somebody text me the other day and I said, 'Yeah I feel the same way.' If I had to bet my life on it, if I had to put money on it, a lot of money on it, I'd put my money on Terence Crawford." [via The Porterway Podcast]
Mikey Garcia, four-division former world champion: "I think that's going to be a great matchup. It's 50-50. If I had to pick a side for at least what it is right now, I'm going to lean toward Crawford. I think he might be able to make adjustments on the spot, on the fly a little bit better, but not by a lot. Spence manages the distance really well and is able to control the distance with short little movements. It's a tough one to call, but I'm thinking Crawford, maybe." [via FightHype]
Eddie Hearn, boxing promoter: "It's a great fight, it's a 50-50 fight. If I have to pick one, I'm going with the fresher guy. I'm going with the guy who makes weight better. It's very difficult to pick. I like Errol -- actually, this is a great stat, both guys won their first world title on my show. ... I favor Terrance Crawford. Points, maybe a late stoppage. It depends on the tempo of the fight. Sometimes you get those kind of fights that might get a bit cagey and you don't expect a stoppage. If they start fast, I think Crawford could stop him." [via FightHype]
Shane Mosley, former three-division world champion: "I'm leaning towards Terence Crawford because he's been more active and he has a winning mentality. Errol Spence also has a winning mentality, but when you've been in a big car accident like Errol has, your body breaks down, and it's difficult to be 100 percent and he needs to be 100 percent against Crawford. At first when the fight was announced my instinct was Spence might outbox Crawford, or at least move around being too technical for him. But then I started to hang out with Terence a little bit and I saw his mentality is different to other fighters. He really showed me that he's a fighter. He's also not too small - he's just as big as Spence - so I'm predicting Terence will give him some problems. But it's a 50-50 fight no doubt and I wouldn't be surprised if Spence beat Terence. I could see both guys winning, but at this moment I'm leaning towards Terence because of Spence's accident and because Spence hasn't been as active as Terence." [via Sporting Post]
Errol Spence Jr. wins
Deontay Wilder, former world heavyweight champion: "I got to go with Errol Spence on it. Errol is my guy I follow my heart in all things, and my heart is with Errol, and his heart is always with me. I don't have anything against anyone else or against Terence. I wish the best for him, but in that fight, I got to go with my guy, Errol Spence." [via Fight Hub TV]
Teofimo Lopez Jr., current WBO junior welterweight champion: "I've been asked this and I still to this day find it a hard decision. Part of me sides with Spence with the only reason being he's good at body shots. Accurate with them. He knows when to throw them. Southpaw. He's a little bit more tall, lanky. I think that he'll read Crawford a bit more. And also, on top of that, he has the ring generalship, he has the experience. He's faced top-[caliber] fighters. He's collected each belt from each one." [via Fight Hub TV]
Jermell Charlo, undisputed junior middleweight champion: "A solid $25,000. That's my guy, I really don't like to go too crazy on betting and stuff, but $25,000 and have fun, you know what I'm saying? Enjoy my night in Vegas and get back home to my family and kids and keep training. I'm on my grind." [TMZ]
Kenny Porter, boxing trainer: "Errol Spence is the bigger guy on fight night. Without getting into any details beyond that, his style is one that will lead him to the victory. ... I think it goes the distance, but I think he wins. No, Spence ain't going down. It's not going to happen. He's not going down. It's not going to happen. Listen, he's not going down. He's a dog." [via Fight Hub TV]
Ryan Garcia, former interim lightweight champion: "I feel like Errol is just going to do what he does. He's going to put that pressure on him and start getting to him in the later rounds. It's going to be a good fight but I think Spence is probably going to win by unanimous decision. Terence is a bad man, too. But I've got Errol."
Gervonta "Tank" Davis, three-division champion: "Errol. I know for sure. ... Imagine we in a gunfight, right? And I've got a metal shield and the opposite person got a glass shield. Who's gonna come out on top? No matter how much he runs around, once those hands get on him, it's going to slow him down. ... Ain't no if, he's going to touch him." [The Rize Podcast in November 2022]
Chris Algieri, former WBO junior welterweight champion: "It's going to come down to if Terence can hurt him and I don't know if he's going to be able to. And I don't see [Crawford] getting a decision. When I'm thinking about it and the 'A-side' or whatever, I don't know, I think it's going to be really difficult for Terence to get a decision." [Inside Boxing Live]
Who wins Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford, and which prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Peter Kahn's best bets for Saturday, all from the boxing specialist who has netted his followers a profit of nearly $4,000, and find out.
