“Errol Spence may have a better resume than Crawford kinda nuts cause he lost to him, but if you look closely you can see that it’s the truth,” Ryan wrote.
Crawford settled the head-to-head matchup by stopping Spence in their undisputed welterweight championship fight. Ryan’s point, however, focuses on the paths both men took to reach the top rather than the result of their meeting.
Spence captured Kell Brook’s IBF title in Sheffield in 2017, though Brook was returning from the orbital injury suffered against Gennadiy Golovkin. After that victory, Spence defeated Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas. With the exception of Brook, those opponents were still regarded as elite fighters when they entered the ring with him.
Critics of Crawford’s career often focus on the timing of his marquee victories. Brook absorbed additional punishment before losing to Crawford in 2020. Porter retired after their 2021 fight. Spence entered their meeting following the 2019 car accident, eye surgery and an extended period of inactivity. Crawford also outpointed Canelo Alvarez after the Mexican star had already accumulated nearly 70 professional bouts.
Another criticism involves the divisions Crawford conquered before moving to welterweight. He deserves credit for beating the best opponents available, but critics argue the lightweight and light welterweight classes lacked the depth seen in the current era. Ricky Burns ranked among the top champions at lightweight, while Viktor Postol emerged as one of the division’s leading fighters at 140. Many observers view the talent pool at both weights as considerably stronger today.
Crawford’s narrow victory over Israil Madrimov in 2024 continues drawing close scrutiny. Unlike several of his other signature opponents, Madrimov was at his peak with relatively little accumulated ring wear. For many observers, that fight remains the clearest example of Crawford facing a younger elite opponent in his prime, making it an important point of comparison when assessing the strength of his opposition.
