Senior writer Chris Mannix sat down with Errol Spence Jr. and Terrance Crawford ahead of their welterweight megafight in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
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00:00 - Carol Spence and Terrence Crawford are getting ready
00:02 for their welterweight super fight
00:04 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
00:06 They speak to me exclusively next on The Knockdown.
00:09 (upbeat music)
00:11 Are you starting to feel some of the juice
00:14 that's around this fight?
00:16 - I've been feeling, felt the juice around this fight.
00:19 This is a big fight.
00:20 Everywhere I go, people's talking about it
00:23 prior to the fight even being made.
00:25 So I know what's at stake.
00:27 I know the significance.
00:28 The buildup is great.
00:31 - This is now five years for you
00:33 as a full-fledged welterweight.
00:36 What's different with you from the guy
00:38 that moved up in 2018 to fight Jeff Horn?
00:42 - I'm more experienced.
00:43 I'm stronger.
00:46 I'm more filled out.
00:47 I'm just a better overall welterweight.
00:49 - Back in 2020, you know, when this fight
00:52 was being talked about a lot,
00:54 Spence was recovering from that car accident.
00:57 When you were asked about fighting him back then,
01:00 and I think I asked you as well,
01:01 you said you wanted to see him get back in the ring first
01:04 before you did fight him.
01:06 He's had a couple of fights since then.
01:08 What do you see in the post-accident version of Errol Spence?
01:12 - He did everything he had to do to keep a perfect record.
01:15 He looked sharp in his last fight.
01:17 He did real good against Ugas.
01:19 And he's not coming off of an accident.
01:22 He's not coming off of an injury.
01:25 So what better time to fight than right now?
01:28 - What would you say is the most dangerous thing
01:31 about Errol Spence?
01:32 - I don't know.
01:33 Really can't say, 'cause I've never been in a ring with him.
01:36 So probably his relentlessness
01:40 and his ability to wear fighters down.
01:42 - In your mind, is the winner of this fight
01:45 unquestionably number one pound for pound?
01:47 - 100%.
01:48 Everybody in the world knows that the winner of this fight
01:52 is number one pound for pound fighter in the world.
01:54 Undisputed.
01:55 Not to take anything away from him in a way,
01:58 he's a talented fighter.
02:00 He's great at what he do.
02:02 And he looked spectacular in his recent fight.
02:07 But everybody in the world know this is a fight
02:10 where you got the number one pound for pound fighter
02:12 fighting the number four pound for pound fighter
02:14 in the world.
02:15 No disrespect to Stefan Fulgenberg,
02:17 but he wasn't nowhere near the pound for pound list.
02:21 So that tells you something right there.
02:24 How close were you to saying,
02:25 you know what, screw it, I'm going to 154?
02:28 - I wasn't close at all.
02:30 No, even my handlers was telling me
02:33 to either move up or move on.
02:35 Like, you know, it's too hard of a negotiation,
02:38 but I stood to negotiate.
02:40 I said, no, we can make this fight happen.
02:42 You know, eventually it happened.
02:44 It definitely took a while, but it happened now.
02:48 And I feel like this fight is the biggest fight,
02:51 not only a decade, but probably the last 20 years.
02:54 A guy like him, he's undefeated.
02:56 I'm undefeated.
02:58 We're the best fighters in our weight class.
03:01 And we're the top pound for pound, number five guys.
03:04 So, I mean, you ready to get that, you know,
03:06 two top five pound for pound guys fighting each other
03:10 for all the marbles that day.
03:12 Both undefeated.
03:12 So it's going to be huge.
03:14 I can't wait for it.
03:16 I'm super excited for this fight.
03:18 Finally get to show everybody why I am the best
03:21 westerner in the world, but not only the best westerner,
03:24 I am the best fighter in the world.
03:26 - Why was it important to you
03:28 to get this fight over the finish line?
03:30 - This is just a great fight period.
03:34 And I feel like I would have had his name over my head
03:38 if I would have moved up and fought other people.
03:41 Everybody would have still put my name with his name
03:44 and the same thing with him.
03:46 They would have put my name with his name.
03:48 So I would rather put that to rest come July 29th
03:53 on Showtime for every view.
03:54 And I'm willing to put everything on the line,
03:57 do everything it takes to win this fight.
04:00 So everybody, you got to make sure they tune in.
04:02 It's going to be one for the books.
04:04 - Does it feel strange being the underdog again?
04:07 - It definitely don't feel strange.
04:09 It's motivation.
04:10 I use everything as added motivation.
04:13 So, you know, it's just motivation.
04:15 People have me the underdog,
04:18 people saying he has more tools than me
04:20 or he's more versatile than me.
04:22 All that sounds good, but I relate to it
04:25 just like how I said in basketball
04:27 I was the San Antonio Spurs.
04:29 You know, they're not really that appealing.
04:31 People, younger guys would choose Kevin Garnett
04:34 over Tim Duncan because, you know,
04:37 Kevin Garnett is more flashy,
04:39 he's more easy on the eyes,
04:40 but the Spurs are more, you know,
04:42 just getting the job done.
04:44 He was called Mr. Fundamentals.
04:46 And that's who I am.
04:47 I am fundamental sound.
04:48 I do everything, you know, by the book
04:51 and I still look good.
04:54 - Is Errol Spence the same fighter he was
04:57 before all this, before the accident,
04:59 before the eye injury?
05:00 How would you answer that question?
05:02 - My answer is by just looking at my body at work
05:05 after the car accident, after the eye injury,
05:08 after everything that happens, you know,
05:11 my body works for itself.
05:13 So you can speculate or, you know, say what they want.
05:17 But come July 29th on Showtime,
05:19 Purple Beauty, I'm gonna put on another spectacular showing
05:23 and show everybody why I am the best fighter in the world.
05:26 I'm the best fighter, 147 pounds.
05:29 And why I will go down as a great,
05:32 especially in the Westwood division.
05:34 (upbeat music)
05:37 (upbeat music)