re: Spence vs Crawford - Undisputed Welterweight Championship Thread

No P4P list can have Canelo above Bivol. It just can't.

quote:

---

I posted earlier that I favored Bud, but didn't think he'd make it look that damn easy by all accounts I've heard and short videos on-line showing the knockdowns and eventual stoppage.

Spence looked totally outclassed and befuddled in what I saw.

---

I'm still in shock. Spence's advisors need to forget about the rematch even if it's at 154. Styles make fights and he was totally outclassed, outworked and most importantly out manned. 154 won't change anything, just forget about Crawford and move on to other fighters at 54 and maybe 60.

quote:

---

No P4P list can have Canelo above Bivol. It just can't.

---

I disagree. Bivol is just too big for Canelo. It’s totally valid to view Canelo as the superior P4P boxer. 175 was just a matter of Canelo flying too close to the sun. He took belts off a shot Kovalev but he’s just not big enough for LHW. The fact that he’s probably the 2nd best LHW in the world when he’s a natural middleweight is astounding.

Stephen A. saying that Spence should consider retirement bc of how bad that arse whipping was

A lot of ways we could look at this. It’s possible Spence suddenly declined at age 33 because he’s not exactly known as a responsible guy outside the ring and there have been videos of him in clubs totally sauced and being carried out (hanging with Broner is always a bad sign). OTOH Spence has shown no signs of decline, has always used a style that ages well, and has shown himself a mentally tough and disciplined fighter in the ring.

It’s possible Bud has been Milton Berle-ing it the whole time. He’s now cleaned out 2 divisions and hasn’t really seemed to break a sweat since the Gamboa fight so long ago. Bud is notorious for playing with his food early. Could be a show of respect that he finally showed his full arsenal tonight with the lights brightest against Spence. I’ve never seen Bud hit the gas so early. He’s similar to Loma and Mayweather in that he normally spends about 3-4 rounds downloading data and starts teeing off in rounds 5-9.

No matter the details, this fight we just witnessed a Hall of Famer’s Magnum Opus and it was glorious.

quote:

---

It’s possible Bud has been Milton Berle-ing it the whole time. He’s now cleaned out 2 divisions and hasn’t really seemed to break a sweat since the Gamboa fight so long ago. Bud is notorious for playing with his food early. Could be a show of respect that he finally showed his full arsenal tonight with the lights brightest against Spence. I’ve never seen Bud hit the gas so early. He’s similar to Loma and Mayweather in that he normally spends about 3-4 rounds downloading data and starts teeing off in rounds 5-9.

---

I think Crawford went in with a similar game plan, he was cautious in Round 1, and he did most of his damage counter punching which is his general M.O. I think what was different was that Spence left so many openings. Round 2 knockdown, Spence lunged and was complete off balance and took two shots. I thought Spence overreacted and pressed too much in round 3 to catch up and again was open to some brutal counters. It looked like he lost his legs and power in round 3 and the on slaughter was on. I think Crawford mentioned after the fight that he sensed Spence couldn’t hurt him early, so he did let the hands fly more early but I think that was dictated by the fight (Crawford has always adjusted well during fights) rather than a pre fight game plan.

I think one big thing Crawford changed in his game plan was throwing a hammer of a jab rather than flicking out a jab (again he talked about that post fight) that was his strategy to defense Spence’s jab which is his set up to throw combinations. Clearly, Spence had no defense as Crawford’s jab was brutal all night.