Terence Crawford is practically numb to the alibis and asterisks that he says typically follow his fights. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

That includes the latest justifications that have dribbled out in the wake of his rousing ninth-round technical knockout of Errol Spence Jr.

Nebraska’s Crawford and Texas’ Spence went toe-to-toe last weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but it was nothing like the competitive contest it had been made out to be. Crawford dominated Spence, dropping him three times before referee Harvey Dock waved off the bout.

After the fight, Spence promptly refused to trot out any excuses for his lopsided loss, but that did not stop fans from devising various theories justifying Spence’s poor showing. Some blamed it on the weight cut (Spence is a career 147-pounder), others looked to the slew of serious injuries that Spence suffered over the years, including his infamous car crash in 2019 and a left eye injury (retinal detachment) in 2021, which derailed his scheduled fight with Manny Pacquiao.

One thing’s for sure, Crawford isn’t bothered by them.

“If you can pull up the interviews I did in the past … I said, listen, once we fight, and when we fight, there will be a lot of excuses,” Crawford told Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg on Hot 97. “They’re going to say, ‘Oh, he’s been at 147 for so long, oh the accident, oh this and oh that.’ I said I’m prepared for that. I said I’m not worried about any of those negative things because I’m so used to it it doesn’t bother me anymore.

“Every fight that I fight there’s an excuse. Either they shaming the opponent or they not giving me credit for my victory. I knew that it would come. That’s the main reason (to remove doubts and criticism) why people were saying, ‘Fight Errol, fight Errol.’”

Crawford, who turns 36 in September, said he doesn’t buy the argument that Spence was fundamentally debilitated by his car accident, citing Spence’s “spectacular” performance over Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas last April. Spence stopped the then titlist in the 10th round of a dominant showing—his second straight win after the car accident that left him hospitalized for months. Crawford said Spence’s win over Ugas convinced him Spence was still an elite fighter, thus preserving the allure of their matchup.

“I said, ‘Man, listen, I don’t ever want to fight Errol coming off the accident of that magnitude,” Crawford said. “I want him to get back right, get back to 100% and then I want to fight him at his best.’ That way nobody can say anything. Errol Spence came back and he fought Danny Garcia (in 2020) and he looked good. He didn’t look 100% but he looked good though. I was there live at that fight and I remember getting into it with a couple of his family members. …He didn’t look 100%. He didn’t look great. And they were like, ‘He’s gonna look great against you.’ Yeah, give him some time. Let him get his feet wet.

“When he fought Ugas he looked spectacular. He looked strong. He did what he had to do. Me and Ugas got a different style. After the Ugas fight I was like, ‘OK, now let’s get this fight underway.’ Not only does it mean more for both of us because we the only two champions and we the top two welterweights in the division and everybody wants to see it but now we can fight for all the marbles and undisputed. Everything played out.

“Can’t nobody say, ‘Oh, the car accident, the eye injury,’” Crawford added. “They can’t use that. I’m pretty sure a lot of people was trying to use that but you got to look at the body of work after the car accident, after the eye injury. There was no excuses.

“The eye injury was when he was training to fight Pacquiao. He fought Ugas after the eye injury and he fought Danny Garcia and Ugas after the car accident. The last little car accident (last December) that he got into … it wasn’t no injuries sustained with that car accident. I don’t see why people will sit there and try to blame the accident for me beating him.”

Crawford and Spence could be headed for a contractually mandated rematch later this year, if Spence decides to invoke his rematch clause. In the event that they decide to fight again, Crawford would have the right to decide if it takes place at 147 or another weight class.

Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.