Jermall Charlo believes that Errol Spence would comfortably defeat Terence Crawford if the two welterweights meet in an undisputed clash.
Spence holds the WBA strap in addition to the WBC and IBF championships at 147lbs after beating Cuban fighter Yordenis Ugas last Saturday, while Crawford is the long-time WBO belt holder.
Crawford recently became a free agent after complaining about a lack of big fights with Top Rank, and his availability should, in theory, make a match-up with Spence less complicated to resolve.
Spence had been out of the ring for over a year after missing a fight with Manny Pacquiao last year, in part because of surgery required for a detached retina, and he previously suffered a serious car crash which could have ended his career, or worse.
The 32-year-old American appeared to have shrugged off any fitness concerns as he defeated Ugas, who suffered a fractured orbital bone in the defeat, which forced the fight to be waved off in the 10th round.
Spence and Crawford, 34, have been circling one another for years and after the win, Spence called for a fight, with Crawford also appearing keen.
WBC middleweight champion Charlo spoke to FightHubTV, saying going by the strength of Spence’s most recent performance, he is favourite to defeat the one-belt champion.
“Super good. He broke him down, beat his a— ,” Charlo stated. “I told y’all, eight, nine or ten. [Spence will] beat [Crawford’s] a— .”
Spence’s trainer Derrick James poured scorn on Crawford’s recent showings, asking the same channel: “Ten knockouts in a row against who?
“Shawn Porter’s dad said he was going to stop the fight before the fight. Didn’t he say that? So what does that mean?
“He was showing Shawn that he was still the boss. It was a power struggle going on in the ring.
“I’m just saying he hasn’t fought the same level of competition. I don’t know. I’ve only seen him fight two or three times.”