Terence Crawford: A Touch of Genius

Terence Crawford: A Touch of Genius

The walkout was iconic. The performance even more so. Eminem walked alongside, Lose Yourself, the tune of choice. It was the perfect fit in many ways. The Las Vegas faithful and the millions who watched elsewhere could be forgiven if they had lost themselves by the brilliance of what Terence Crawford served up.

“Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.” The post-fight words from Crawford said without a hint of arrogance or delusion. Nobody argued. In truth, how could they?

Errol Spence Jr. came with an unbeaten record, three welterweight baubles, and with real hope. It took less than six minutes for all that hope to be extinguished. At that point, it stopped being a fight. At least, a competitive one. Spence was incredibly brave. Even when all reasonable hope had long since gone, he never stopped trying to change the course of his night. Maybe even his fighting future. It could and perhaps should have ended sooner. It was waved off after nine rounds. A few rounds earlier, the corner really should have pulled their man. Two knockdowns in the 7th round should have been enough. A broken man. A broken body. The little touch of humanity and respect in the heat of battle Crawford showed to Spence at the end of that pivotal round was telling. And warming. The respectful touch of gloves as Spence wearily staggered back to the relative safety of his corner was a rare sign of compassion from the quite majestic Crawford. It could have easily said, “Enough now Errol, it’s over.” It was and had been for several rounds.

Only the immense pride the former champion has got him off the stool to face more of the heavy artillery Terence Crawford has in his hands. Spence needed saving from Crawford. And from himself. The human touch was missing. There was no realistic chance of victory that had all but gone with the first knockdown in the 2nd round. Why take nearly two more rounds of punishment he didn’t have to. Or need. The hope is his future, inside, and more importantly, outside of the ring isn’t too badly affected by what Crawford did to him in those unnecessary final few minutes.

It had long since gone to the realms of the uncomfortable. Despite the obvious admiration of the masterful majestic display Crawford was in the middle of, you felt for Spence. And worry for him also. The American is no ordinary fighter. But he was made to look that way. It is doubtful if he will ever be the same again. Fighters believe they are invincible, and once that myth goes within their minds, many struggle to accept the new world of vulnerability. Despite another tiresome and predictable contractual obligation, we don’t need to see a rematch. Especially at welterweight. Rematches should only happen if there is a need for one. There is no need for a rerun of what we saw at the T-Mobile Arena. We don’t need to see it. Spence doesn’t need to feel it.

Crawford has proved he is the better fighter. It wasn’t even close. Spence is a good fighter, and Crawford is a great one. That is the brutal truth. He touched genius on Saturday night. And he did it without seemingly getting out of second gear. Crawford took away the jab of Spence. He eventually took his soul. It was the simplicity of what he did that had everyone quite rightly waxing lyrical about the performance. That thudding dominating jab, the backhand that countered with the precision of a missile. It couldn’t miss. Crawford didn’t waste anything. Spence threw more. But landed less. Every mistake was punished by a fighter who could have competed in any era. The facial features of the proud defeated fighter started to show the signs of battle even before the fight had reached the halfway point. The writing was on the wall long before the referee belatedly made his intervention in the 9th round. To his credit, Spence never made an excuse. How could he? He was a victim of a masterclass. A butchery even. Spence was taken to school. We all were.

We saw a special performance from a special fighter. Crawford came to show and prove how great he was. He did that and then some. Crawford came for undisputed again. The rest of us got the undisputed truth.

Photo Credit: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions