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Steven Nelson vs Rowdy Montgomery
The early undercard action continues at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the ring now are Steven Nelson and the brilliantly-named Rowdy Legend Montgomery.
This is a 10-rounder in the super-middleweight division, with Nelson a big favourite against late replacement opponent Montgomery.
35-year-old Nelson, a long-time training partner of Terence Crawford in Omaha, is looking to stay unbeaten and move to 19-0.
Spence vs Crawford rematch clause
Spence-Crawford has a two-way rematch clause to be activated within 30 days, so we are almost guaranteed to see it again regardless of tonight’s result.
But a key stipulation is that the winner of the first fight will determine at what weight the rematch is contested at.
That could be significant as the naturally bigger Spence has been talking a lot about this being his last fight at 147 pounds as he eyes a move up to 154 and light-middleweight.
“I would want it at 154,” Spence said. “I’ve outgrown 147.”
He told Boxing Scene this week of his struggle to continue to make the welterweight limit: “It’s been kinda hard, but I’ve got a nutritionist and a dietician to make sure I’m eating the right foods and make sure I’m good. But it’s definitely hard. It’s definitely a struggle.
“It’s always hard, but yeah, this is the last time, definitely. I’m a lot older. I’m not as young as I used to be, so you know, you can’t be putting your body through that much to fight.”
Would Crawford be content to move up to 154? How would Spence react if Crawford wins and therefore chooses the rematch to happen again at 147? It’s certainly an interesting subplot.
Spence promises ‘nothing but fireworks from start to finish’
Spence vs Crawford is being spoken about as having the potential to join the very best welterweight fights of all time, joining the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard- Robert Duran, Leonard-Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Robinson-Tommy Bell, Robinson-Kid Gavilan, Shane Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya and many more.
Spence himself believes it is going to be one for the ages, harking back to the iconic ‘Four Kings’ era of Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran.
“This is gonna be legendary,” he said. “Make sure you tune in. This is gonna be an old-school fight. It’s gonna be iconic. You’re gonna want to buy this fight. You’re getting your money’s worth.
“People are gonna talk about this fight 30 or 40 years from now when you talk about legendary fights. They’re gonna talk about this fight the same way they talked about the ‘Four Kings’ era. There’s gonna be an amateur 20 years from now watching our fight on YouTube and saying, ‘Man, I want to be in a fight like that’.
“I guarantee you it’s gonna be nothing but fireworks from start to finish.”
Watch: Jose Salas Reyes stops Aston Palicte
That fourth-round stoppage from Reyes, courtesy of Showtime Boxing…
Spence: I’m gonna break Crawford’s will… I’m the better fighter
Errol Spence Jr has confidently pledged to “break the will” of Terence Crawford in tonight’s major main event.
He believes ‘Bud’ is vastly underestimating his “superior” all-round skills as he looks to cement a dream by becoming an undisputed world champion for the first time.
“I’m gonna win because I’m the better fighter,” Spence said. “I’m better physically and mentally. I’m more durable. I’m gonna break him down and break his will.
“It would mean a lot to be undisputed. It would mean that I’m one of the greatest welterweights to ever lace up a pair of gloves.
“He’s gonna find out that my skills are superior. He’s talented, but when we talk about what my coach teaches, he’s gonna see that I have great offence, defence, and stamina. It’s more than just talent.”
Jose Salas Reyes stops Aston Palicte in round four
This is very tough going for Palicte against the sprightly, focused and busy Reyes.
It’s one-way traffic and he’s dropped in the fourth, clearly wanting no more part of it. Actually looked more like he took a bit of a knee amid the heavy punishment.
He gets up, but is not interested in continuing and it’s all over after a shake of the head to both the corner and the referee Robert Hoyle.
That was impressive from Reyes, who trapped his opponent in the corner and unleashed a violent flurry of blows to head and body off both hands.
He sensed the finish and made it happen, moving to 13-0 with a 10th career stoppage.
For Palicte, it’s a second successive loss and he drops to 28-6-1.
Jose Salas Reyes vs Aston Palicte
You may remember Palicte from his last outing last June, when he was stopped inside three rounds in Melbourne by Jason Moloney, who took the vacant WBO International bantamweight title and later the full WBO crown.
It’s been a quiet opening to this bout, with the younger Reyes the busier fighter, piling on plenty of pressure and moving forward at every opportunity to try and piece together his combinations.
Palicte looks content to sit back, soak up the pressure and try his best to counter, but he’s under the cosh at the moment and not throwing much back.
Jose Salas Reyes vs Aston Palicte opens prelims
The early Spence-Crawford prelims are now officially underway at the T-Mobile Arena.
Jose Salas Reyes vs Aston Palicte is the very first fight of the night, a 10-rounder in the super-bantamweight division.
Filipino Palicte is a two-time contender for the WBO world flyweight title, drawing with Donnie Nietes and losing to Kazuto Ioka.
The 32-year-old is 28-5-1 with 23 knockouts, while Mexican Reyes is an undefeated 21-year-old prospect who stands at 12-0 with nine knockouts, outpointing Prince Dzanie on his US debut in April.
Crawford: Everything about me is better than Errol
Things haven’t got out of hand between Spence and Crawford this week, with both men preferring to do their talking inside the ring.
There was an obvious mutual respect between the superstar duo as they weighed in with a massive crowd watching yesterday, with Spence bang on the 147-pound welterweight limit and Crawford slightly lighter at 146.8 pounds.
But things did heat up nicely at the final press conference on Thursday, with plenty of barbs exchanged and Crawford arguing with members of Spence’s entourage, plus a lot of spicy back and forth between respective trainers Derrick James and Brian ‘BoMac‘ McIntyre.
“I don’t go in there looking for the knockout, I go in there looking for the win. If he gets out of line he’s gonna be the next one going down,” Crawford said.
“Everyone knows what time it is. I’m ready and he’s ready. We’re gonna have a fish fry come Saturday.
“He’s gonna find out the same thing that everyone else finds out. He’s gonna say that on TV I look one way. In the ring he’s gonna be seeing three of me.
“They say he’s the big bad wolf, but come fight night we’re gonna find out if he’s all that he says he is. He’s gonna have to show me.
“Everything about me is better than Errol. When you look at what I do in the ring, it’s better than what he does. Come fight night, I’m going to prove every doubter wrong. I’m going to show that I’m the best fighter in the world.
“This is the Terence Crawford era. When you look at my body of work in each weight class, you can’t deny that. This is my era. I’ve never had a close fight. I’ve never had a fight where people thought I lost. I’ve looked spectacular every time.
“This is what we do every time we come out. That talking can turn bad real quick. Support your fighter, and let’s come together and make this event a success.”
Spence vs Crawford fight prediction
This is an extremely tough battle to call between two fantastic, highly-skilled champions and unbeaten 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 Naoya Inoue may already have that title in the bag for the moment after his ruthless dispatching of unified super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Both men combine real power, speed, versatility and sky-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 so far.
Crawford to take the win of his career, potentially via a late stoppage but most likely on points.
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