It very rarely gets bigger than this in boxing, with two celebrated pound-for-pound greats and dominant, unbeaten world champions going head to head for all the belts in the 147lbs division, following hot on the heels of Naoya Inoue’s ruthless win over Stephen Fulton.
It is quite simply a mammoth occasion and an epic grudge match that most never thought we would ever see, following years of false hope, near-misses and outright frustration over the decorated American duo never quite agreeing to a high-profile clash.
Ultra-skilled three-division world champion ‘Bud’ Crawford, 35, comes into Saturday’s mega-fight at 39-0 with 30 knockouts, having held the WBO title at welterweight since stopping Manny Pacqiuao’s conqueror Jeff Horn in 2018.
The former lightweight and light-welterweight champion has since defended that latest gold on no fewer than six separate occasions, stopping former world champions in the likes of Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and David Avanesyan, plus Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Jose Benavidez Jr.
His most recent outing was against Avanesyan in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska back in December, when he floored the Russian in the sixth round after a competitive contest.
But facing Spence, 33, is an altogether different prospect. ‘The Truth’ is 28-0 with 22 knockouts, currently reigning supreme as the unified WBA, WBC and IBF champion.
He first claimed the IBF crown with a late knockout of Brook at Bramall Lane in 2017, fracturing Kell’s orbital bone in the process, defending it three times before adding the WBC version with a split-decision win over Porter in 2019.
After outpointing Danny Garcia on his return from injuries sustained in a serious 2019 car accident in Dallas that left him in intensive care, Spence delivered a dominant 10th-round stoppage of Cuban Yordenis Ugas – who had also beaten Pacquiao for his belt – in Texas last April to also claim WBA honours.
Spence vs Crawford date, start time, venue and ring walks
This undisputed welterweight blockbuster is scheduled to take place on Saturday July 29, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The main undercard gets underway at 1am BST, with main event ring walks expected at approximately 4am. As ever, those timings are subject to change.
The early portion of the undercard will be available to watch online.
Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford has reigned as the WBO welterweight champion since 2018
/ Getty ImagesSpence vs Crawford fight card/undercard in full
On Saturday’s undercard, the great ‘Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire, last seen being wiped out by Inoue in their one-sided rematch of a bloody classic in Japan last summer, will attempt to become a world champion once again at the age of 40 as he takes on Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago for the vacant WBC bantamweight title.
Lightweight contender Isaac Cruz is also up against Giovanni Cabrera in another exciting bout.
Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr
Nonito Donaire vs Alexandro Santiago
Isaac Cruz vs Giovanni Cabrera
Jesus Alejandro Ramos vs Sergio Garcia
Gurgen Hovhannisyan vs Viktor Vykhryst
Steven Nelson vs Rowdy Montgomery
Jose Salas Reyes vs Aston Palicte
How to watch Spence vs Crawford
TV channel: In the UK, the event is being broadcast live via pay-per-view television on TNT Sports Box Office at a cost of £19.95
Live stream: Those who have purchased the fight can also watch it live online via the TNT Sports Box Office player.
Live blog: You can follow live coverage on the night with Standard Sport’s live fight blog.
Spence vs Crawford prediction
This is an extremely tough battle to call between two fantastic, highly-skilled champions and masters of their craft with 52 professional knockouts between them.
There is so much on the line here beyond all the welterweight marbles, reputation, undefeated records and supreme bragging rights over a major rival, but career legacy and likely the title of the world’s pound-for-pound best boxer, though Inoue may already have that title in the bag for the moment after his ruthless dispatching of unified super-bantamweight champion Fulton in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Both men combine real power, speed, versatility and high ring IQ with the ability to change stances and adapt on the fly, with Crawford having not gone the distance in any fight since 2016 and stopped everyone put in front of him at this level.
I reserve the right to no doubt change my mind on this several times between the time of writing and the first bell in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but let’s go Crawford on points… for now at least!
Errol Spence Jr added the WBA gold to his IBF and WBC titles by stopping Yordenis Ugas
/ Getty ImagesSpence vs Crawford weigh-in results
The weigh-ins for Saturday night’s card are due to take place in Las Vegas on Friday. Check back in then for the official results on the scales.
Spence vs Crawford betting odds
Spence to win: 6/5
Crawford to win: 4/6
Draw: 16/1
Crawford to win by KO or TKO: 16/5
Crawford to win by points or decision: 6/4
Spence to win by KO or TKO: 11/2
Spence to win by points or decision: 15/8
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
