Will it be ‘Strap Season’ or ‘Terence Crawford Era?’

Boxing has patiently waited for this moment, and on Saturday, July 29, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas(Showtime PPV), the wait will finally be over.

Unified welterweight(WBC/WBA/IBF) champion Errol Spence Jr.(28-0, 22 KOs) will battle WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs). The winner will be the first undisputed champion in the four-belt era at 147 pounds. If Crawford wins, he’ll be the first male to be undisputed in two divisions in the four-belt era.

Spence, 33, wants all the belts at 147 pounds, and he’s made it clear that he will get them all.

Photos: Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions

“Everyone knows it’s ‘Strap Season,” he said on Thursday. “I want to thank my parents because they blessed me with the resiliency to get through a lot of stuff in life. Make sure you order the fight on SHOWTIME PPV. I guarantee you I’m gonna put on a great show. Bring your seasoning on Saturday night because we’re gonna have a crawfish boil. Bring that hot sauce too.

“People are gonna talk about this fight 30 or 40 years from now when you talk about legendary fights,” Spence said on Thursday. “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.”

Crawford, 35, like Spence, wants to be the king of the division, and he believes this era belongs to him.

“This is the Terence Crawford era,” Crawford said. “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.”

Prediction:

Man, this is a tough one to pick. This is the ultimate 50-50 fight. Both fighters are super tough and overwhelm the opposition.

Both fighters know how to take it to that next level and hit that next gear. You can argue that Crawford, who last fought in December, and has stopped all seven of his opponents at welterweight, has more in his toolbox, and maybe what Spence does is simplistic, but he does it at a high level.  

However, Spence has been out of the ring for 15 months. That’s not good, but to his credit, overcoming inactivity has never been an issue. In recent years, Spence has overcome a terrible car accident and a torn retina. He appears to be an overcomer. Plus, he’s fought the better opposition.

Honestly, I don’t know who will win, but if I had to guess:

Crawford wins by a razor-thin split decision.