Errol Spence and Terence Crawford fight in Las Vegas tonight in one the most high-profile boxing showdowns witnessed for many years.
Undisputed status at welterweight is on the line in the fight capital of the world as well as the title of pound-for-pound No1 and two proud unbeaten records, with legacies to be sealed as two celebrated champions go head to head in potentially the sport’s biggest clash since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao famously locked horns in 2015.
It is quite simply a mammoth occasion and an epic grudge match that most never thought we would ever see, following years of false hope, near-misses and outright frustration over the decorated American duo never quite agreeing to a high-profile clash.
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Ultra-skilled three-division world champion ‘Bud’ Crawford, 35, comes into Saturday’s mega-fight at 39-0 with 30 knockouts, having held the WBO title at welterweight since stopping Pacqiuao’s conqueror Jeff Horn in 2018.
The former undisputed light-welterweight king, who has also been a champion down at lightweight in his illustrious career, has since defended that latest gold on no fewer than six separate occasions, stopping former world champions in the likes of Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and David Avanesyan, plus Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Jose Benavidez Jr.
His most recent outing was against Avanesyan in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska back in December, when he floored the Russian in the sixth round after a competitive contest.
But facing Spence, 33, is an altogether different prospect. ‘The Truth’ is 28-0 with 22 knockouts, currently reigning supreme as the unified WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight champion.
He first claimed the IBF crown with a late knockout of Brook at Bramall Lane in 2017, fracturing Kell’s orbital bone in the process, later defending it three times before adding the WBC version with a split-decision win over Porter in 2019.
After outpointing Danny Garcia on his return from injuries sustained in a serious 2019 car accident in Dallas that left him in intensive care, Spence delivered a dominant 10th-round stoppage of Cuban Yordenis Ugas - who had also beaten Pacquiao for his belt - in Texas last April to also claim WBA honours.
Spence vs Crawford date, start time, venue and ring walks
This undisputed welterweight blockbuster is scheduled to take place tonight on Saturday July 29, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The chief undercard gets underway at 1am BST in the early hours of Sunday morning for UK fight fans, with main event ring walks then expected at approximately 4am. As ever though, those timings are subject to change.
The early portion of the undercard will be available to watch for free online via Showtime’s YouTube, meanwhile.
Spence vs Crawford fight card/undercard in full
On tonight’s undercard, the great ‘Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire, last seen being wiped out by Naoya Inoue in their one-sided rematch of a bloody classic in Japan last summer, will attempt to become a world champion once again at the age of 40 as he takes on Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago for the vacant WBC bantamweight title.
Lightweight contender Isaac Cruz is also up against Giovanni Cabrera in another exciting bout.
Errol Spence vs Terence Crawford
Isaac Cruz vs Giovanni Cabrera
Nonito Donaire vs Alexandro Santiago
Yoenis Tellez vs Sergio Garcia
Steven Nelson vs Rowdy Montgomery
Jose Salas Reyes vs Aston Palicte
How to watch Spence vs Crawford
TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s event is being broadcast live via pay-per-view television on TNT Sports Box Office at a cost of £19.95.
Live stream: Those who have purchased the fight can also watch it live online via the TNT Sports Box Office player.
Live blog: You can follow coverage on the entire card this evening with Standard Sport’s live fight blog.
Spence vs Crawford fight prediction
This is an extremely tough battle to call between two fantastic, highly-skilled champions and unbeaten masters of their craft with 52 professional knockouts between them.
There is so much on the line here beyond all the welterweight marbles, reputation, undefeated records and supreme bragging rights over a major rival, but career legacy and likely the title of the world’s pound-for-pound best boxer, though Inoue may already have that title in the bag for the moment after his ruthless dispatching of unified super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Both men combine real power, speed, versatility and sky-high ring IQ with the ability to change stances and adapt on the fly, with Crawford having not gone the distance in any fight since 2016 and stopped everyone put in front of him at this level so far.
I reserve the right to no doubt change my mind on this several times between the time of writing and the first bell in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but let’s go Crawford on points... for now at least!
Spence vs Crawford weigh-in results
Spence and Crawford both made the welterweight limit at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in. Spence tipped the scales at 147 pounds exactly, while the smaller Crawford was slightly lighter at 146.8 pounds.
Spence vs Crawford betting odds
Spence to win: 6/5
Crawford to win: 4/6
Draw: 16/1
Spence to win by KO or TKO: 6/1
Spence to win by points or decision: 2/1
Crawford to win by KO or TKO: 16/5
Crawford to win by points or decision: 7/4
