Ortiz Jr. Believes Spence Can Take Down Crawford
On the outside looking in, 22-year-old Vergil Ortiz Jr. has decided to give his take on a potential showdown between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
Ortiz (15-0) told Fino Boxing that when it comes down to overall skills, Spence may have the advantage over Crawford. That is especially true when he accounts Spence’s (26-0) power, in which he has 21 wins via knockout. Crawford (36-0) has 27 wins via knockout.
“I’m going to lean a little bit towards Spence because he does have the power to catch Crawford,” Ortiz stated, via Boxing News 24. “I mean, if he does catch Crawford, I think he’s going to put him down, and he’s going to hurt him.”
Crawford made his professional debut in 2008 and won the WBO Lightweight Title in 2014. After becoming the lineal light-welterweight champion, Crawford beat Jeff Horn for the WBO Welterweight Title in 2018. He has since defended it three times, last beating Egidijus Kavaliauskas via TKO in December.
“Bud” has been doing everything to get the attention of Spence, the WBC and IBF Welterweight Champion. He stated that Spence is one of only two fighters he is interested in, the other one being against Manny Pacquiao.
Spence has managed to decimate the welterweight division since joining it in 2012. He beat Kell Brook for the IBF Welterweight Title in 2017 and has defended it four times. In what many are calling the Fight of 2019, Spence beat Shawn Porter to win the WBC Welterweight Title. Soon after, Spence was involved in an accident where his car flipped over after speeding. Not wearing a seatbelt, Spence was ejected from the car and suffered cuts to his face and damage to his teeth.
The accident not being a factor to Ortiz when it comes to the actual fight, he has looked at the fight IQ of both individuals. While Spence has the advantage as stated above, Ortiz can see a game of chess being played between the two.
“Crawford, he’s very technically skilled,” Ortiz continued. “I think he’s the most technically skilled fighter in all of boxing. So they’re both southpaws and that kind of advantage kind of cancels out right there.
“So, at this point, it’s about who makes the smarter moves of who’s the stronger. Whoever plays the right cards is what it comes down to. That’ll be a good fight.”