They danced around each other, barked from behind closed fences, and pointed a blaming finger in the other’s direction for a number of years. Still, after making the boxing world wait for what felt like forever, both Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. will finally square off on July 29th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Thanks to Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) spending several stints sitting protracted on the bench, coupled with Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) defending his WBO title just once annually since 2020, the top of the welterweight division has suffered from a logjam. Although countless names have been irritated by how things have played out, including Eimantas Stanionis, the Lithuanian admits that he’s been dying to see who would win between the two.
With just over a month remaining before his question is answered, Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) stood motionless after he was asked to choose a winner. After placing his hand on his chin and weighing the pluses and minuses of each fighter, Stanionis gnashed his teeth before revealing who he believes has the edge.
“I’m leaning toward Spence,” said Stanionis to MillCity Boxing. “He’s the bigger guy, he has big amateur background. I just go towards him.”
Currently, oddsmakers are taking Stanionis’ advice with a grain of salt. At the moment, the pound-for-pound star and former three-division champion is pegged as the odds-on favorite heading in. Stanionis though, isn’t convinced that the 35-year-old will be sturdy enough to endure the sort of heat that Spence will be chucking in his direction come fight night.
While he isn’t backing away from his prediction, Stanionis, who has an upcoming showdown against Vergil Ortiz Jr. on July 8th, has no problem with issuing a mea culpa if he’s ultimately proven wrong.
“It’s nothing against Crawford,” continued Stanionis. “He’s an amazing fighter.”