Terence Crawford couldn’t help but scoff at what he feels is another excuse from Errol Spence Jr.
The unified welterweight champion from Omaha, Nebraska, responded to Spence’s insistence made earlier this week that his vision was impaired during their undisputed 147-pound championship last summer, which Crawford won by dominant ninth-round stoppage to unify all four belts in the division. (Crawford has since been stripped of his IBF title.)
On his Instagram account, Spence posted a video of himself in a wheelchair with his right eye bandaged, saying he had undergone cataract surgery. He also blamed his eye condition for meddling with his performance against Crawford.
“It’s been past due,” Spence wrote in a post. “Sh!t was covering my eye. Why [do] you think I got hit with so many jabs and hooks? Still a great performance by bro [Crawford].”
This is the second serious eye issue Spence has had in the past several years. In 2021, he had to undergo an operation for a detached retina in his left eye ahead of a scheduled bout with Manny Pacquiao. Spence had to bow out of that fight, paving the way for Yordenis Ugas to replace him; Ugas wound up defeating Pacquiao on points.
After saying “no comment” on his social media in regard to Spence’s claim, Crawford broke his silence a few days later.
“Last I can recall we definitely get our eyes checked before every fight I’m just saying,” Crawford wrote on X. “Any boxer would know that. But casual fans will say and make up anything.”
Crawford added, “Yea I need 3 surgeries that I haven’t got so [does that make] me handicap[ed] as well? (three crying emojis).”
Spence had previously hinted that he had been weight-drained ahead of the fight with Crawford and has noted that his preference for the rematch is to take place at 154 pounds. Spence activated his contractual right to a rematch a few months after the loss, but the choice of the weight class belongs to Crawford.
It is not clear when the two will engage in the rematch but it seems clear, in light of his recent operation, that Spence will not be ready until later in the year. Premier Boxing Champions, the outfit that backs both fighters, recently inked a new multi-year deal with Amazon Prime Video but there has been no information about the schedule. The first “PBC on Prime” card is expected to take place in March.
In a series of other tweets, Crawford seemed to take issue with those complaining about his lack of activity.
“I wish I could fight more than 1 time a year, but these guys been running and hiding for years,” Crawford wrote. “Boxing nothing like it used to me when everyone fought each other.
“I live in the gym,” he continued. “But my whole career these fighters been running behind people saying I’m on the wrong side of the street, call this guy call that guy! Make it make sense.”
“I fought everyone and everybody that was put on my table. Never turned down a fight in my life. Even if it was late notice, moving up in weight. Short fighters, tall fighters, strong fighters, fast fighters, boxers, brawlers etc, I fought them all.”
Crawford went so far as to threaten fans with only one more fight before retiring for good.
“I might give yall 1 more or not because yall don’t know how to appreciate greatness when you see it,” he wrote.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.