This is it — the most highly-anticipated fight in boxing is finally upon us.
Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford will decide undisputed welterweight world championship supremacy Saturday night, when they clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and live on pay-per-view.
With the stakes being all four welterweight world titles and an undeniable spot in boxing history, DAZN lists the keys to victory for both champs.
Terence Crawford's keys to victory
Get off to a quick start
It's hard to even nitpick at a fighter as dynamic as Terence Crawford, the current WBO welterweight world titleholder who hauls his 39-0 record, with 30 knockouts, into this weekend's massive fight. After all, he's the top of many boxing critics' pound-for-pound list for a reason. However, if there's one aspect about fighting Errol Spence that Crawford might want to be assertive about, it could be trying to get off to a quick start.
Sometimes, Crawford is computing and downloading information in real time, showing that early patience that has led to an undefeated, pristine ledger. However, in doing that against a caliber of fighter like Spence, Crawford could find himself down a few rounds and that's a hole he doesn't want to be in during the biggest fight of his career.
Switch stances often to throw Spence off
"Bud" Crawford tends to mirror the stance of his opponent to start off fights before switching his stance over the course of the bouts. Although Spence figures to be front and center with Crawford in the pocket, Crawford's ability to switch stances at an opportune time should at least make "The Truth" think — and at the most, throw the unified welterweight world champ's rhythm off a bit. Either prospect would bode well for Crawford and his chances to record this signature victory.
Defend the body to ensure being dynamic self
Watch Spence carefully and he'll pepper an opponent with a right jab, before almost instantly and instinctively following through with a left hook to the body that he absolutely sits on. Those body shots over the course of a 12-round bout take their toll on a fighter and go long ways toward breaking him down and eroding at his ability.
Crawford timing those body shots from the southpaw and dropping his elbow down to bear the brunt of that work would help the WBO titleholder to absorb less damage and be the fresher man as the fight prolongs.
By protecting his own body, Crawford will also be free to be his dynamic self and that means placing shots with sensational movement and accuracy and delivering them with that whiplashing effect that has empowered him to knock out all seven opponents that he's faced at 147 pounds thus far. If Crawford is going to follow up being undisputed at 140 pounds with an undisputed crown at welterweight, he's going to do it by being himself.
Errol Spence Jr.'s keys to victory
Touch Crawford early and often with the jab
Spence does an excellent job of flicking out the jab with his right hand and just touching a fighter early and often. The shot, whether it's an up jab or straightforward jab, lands with blunt force and its crispness is what opens up the lane to follow through with the body work that Spence is known for.
If Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) is going to walk Crawford down and make "Bud" look like the smaller man, he's going to need to assert his jab early into this mega bout.
Unload to the body to break "Bud" down
As aforementioned, Spence asserting the jab successfully will give him the green light to pound away at Crawford with body work, especially that left hook. During a recent sitdown with The Pivot Podcast, the unified welterweight champion equated his brand of body work to being like "a drip of water hitting a brick ... after a while, that water is going to start chipping at that brick and get through."
Those deposits to the body could take away from Crawford's explosive athleticism and be enough to take the undefeated champion into deep waters, threatening to hand him his first loss.
Keep punch volume high
If this fight is going to live up to its billing for being unprecedented and nothing short of spectacular, it could present the scenario of both men being ushered into uncharted territory. If that's indeed the case and Spence and Crawford push each other to the limit, then it's imperative that Spence keeps his punch volume high.
The visual of walking Crawford down for a majority of the rounds and recording more consistent punches could spell the difference in "The Truth" getting his hand raised on points and leaving Las Vegas as the undisputed welterweight world champion.