LAS VEGAS — Roughly 28 hours before their career- and sport-defining clash, Terence “Bud” Crawford and Errol “The Big Fish” Spence Jr. walked into an empty T-Mobile Arena from opposite sides, through lit tunnels, toward the clearest of clarity with their futures. Crawford’s entourage was so large it resembled a football team and hid him somewhere in the middle of a few dozen bodies. Spence’s group was smaller and leaner, but no less ready or intense.
Boxing champions like Roy Jones Jr., Evander Holyfield, Antonio Tarver and Riddick Bowe milled backstage. Their presence alone, for a weigh-in that was no more than ceremonial in nature, made for TV—the real versions took place Friday morning at the MGM Grand—signaled the immense stakes. Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns was in the house, hoping, along with thousands of others who descended on Las Vegas during an epic heatwave, for another welterweight classic. The old-school, vintage kinds he long ago engaged in.
Crawford’s head trainer, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, banged the ring apron like a drum with both hands. Two men carried four belts and the white, satin-like bags they would soon be gently placed in. Once inside, all four would stay there until both undefeated champions and their teams carried them into the ring late Saturday.
