Plenty of Terence Crawford’s attributes are being praised ahead of his undisputed showdown against Errol Spence Jr. Who could blame them? Whether it’s his ability to snipe his opponents from the outside or the violent KOs he scores against literally all of his welterweight opposition, the 35-year-old has simply mastered the sport of boxing. With that said, his smooth switch-hitting capabilities have been accentuated as of late.
Spence, by and large, has a ton that he has to be wary of, and so does Derrick James, his head trainer. However, the world-renowned trainer isn’t sweating Crawford’s tendency to switch stances.
Although it hasn’t happened incredibly often, James does recall a few instances where Spence was asked to take care of business against someone who was equally effective out of both stances.
“Kell Brook was a switch-hitter,” James told Fight Hub TV. “Leonard Bundu switched up too. They switched, both of them.”
Ironically enough, Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) faced both Brook and Bundu on back-to-back occasions, winning both via stoppage. Crawford though, is much more proficient at tussling as either a southpaw or orthodox fighter.
Several years ago, Crawford came out in the orthodox stance against Kell Brook. During the first three rounds, nevertheless, the former IBF welterweight champion appeared to have the edge. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) flipped the script and switched stances. As a southpaw, Crawford was meaner than ever. In the blink of an eye, the pound-for-pound star landed an awkward jab during the fourth frame. Brook immediately froze and stumbled into the ropes before Crawford eventually finished him off just a few seconds later.
James becomes stoic and listless when discussing Crawford’s switch-hitting. In short, James would love for everyone to simply pop in the game tape of Spence demolishing both Brook and Bundu.
“We know how those ended.”