The much-anticipated bout between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. officially fell through the cracks on Oct. 20 after monthslong negotiations when Crawford announced he’d instead be fighting David Avanesyan on Dec. 10. 

Recently retired four-division champion Mikey Garcia is far too familiar with both fighters. 

Garcia lost a one-sided unanimous decision to Spence in 2019, getting outlanded 187 to 117 in the fight. At the time, Garcia moved up two weight classes to fight Spence at 147 pounds. 

Garcia and Crawford were both Top Rank stablemates until 2014, when Garcia sued the promotional company. They both fought on the same cards and within a weight class of one another. 

Should Spence and Crawford squareoff one day, Garcia is siding with the Nebraska native to land the career-defining win. 

“I think that’s going to be a great match-up. It’s 50-50,” Garcia told FightHype. “If I had to pick a side for at least what it is right now, I’m going to lean toward Crawford. I think he might be able to make adjustments on the spot, on the fly a little bit better, but not by a lot.

“Spence manages the distance really well and is able to control the distance with short little movements. It’s a tough one to call, but I’m thinking Crawford, maybe.

“Everybody has the power at that point. They’re at the highest level. The only difference is [Crawford and Spence] are too smart to knock each other out. I think it’s going to be a very technical fight.

“All it takes is one punch, and [Spence] never landed that one punch that could have hurt me. He could land that against anybody else. That’s what makes a difference. 

“When I say I’m going to lean a little bit toward Crawford, it’s just an instinct, maybe. It’s not where I can pinpoint why. It’s a close fight.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.