Errol Spence Jr lashed out at claims from Terence Crawford that a victory over him would solidify him as the best fighter of his era.
Spence Jr and Crawford will clash for the undisputed welterweight championship in the most highly-anticipated fight of the year in Las Vegas on July 29, live on SHOWTIME pay-per-view.
The unbeaten world champions kicked off a two-day press tour on Tuesday in Los Angeles to promote the long-awaited bout, which concluded on Wednesday in New York.
In a heated exchange during Tuesday’s press conference, Spence Jr, who has two common opponents with his rival in Shawn Porter and Kell Brook, argued that they were both past their best days when Crawford faced them.
“Top Rank [Crawford’s previous promoter] have the best matchmakers in the business,” the 33-year-old said.
“You ain’t fought nobody. You haven’t beat anybody undisputed at 140lbs.
“Who you fought at 135lbs? Who you fought at 147lbs?
“Shawn Porter even said he did not train like he should [have].
“He didn’t do the things his daddy told him to do. What are you talking about?
“Even his daddy said it.”
Crawford stopped Porter in the 11th round in November 2021 to defend his WBO welterweight world title just over two years after Spence Jr, the now WBA ‘super’, WBC and IBF champion had secured a split decision win over the Ohio native.
‘Bud’ interrupted his rival during the exchange, saying: “What did I do to Shawn Porter that you couldn’t do?
“You butt hurt that I got the stoppage?”
Spence Jr then went onto compare his 2017 victory over Kell Brook to Crawford’s 2020 win over the Sheffield man.
Brook sustained a fractured left eye socket against the Texan eight months after suffering the same injury to his right eye against Gennady Golovkin.
“Even Kell Brook, he was already broken [when you fought him],” Spence Jr added.
‘Bud’ responded: “So was he broken when you fought him?”
Spence Jr argued back: “No he wasn’t broken. I broke the other eye, that’s how it got broke.”
Crawford clapped back: “He came off a stoppage months prior and then he fought you, so was he broken or not?”
Spence Jr will fight for the first time since halting Yordenis Ugas last April when he faces the Omaha native six weeks on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.
The 35-year-old, three-weight world champion made a sixth defence of his WBO crown when he knocked out David Avanesyan in December.
