In a 12-round welterweight championship bout Saturday, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET, with the main event ring walks set for approximately 11 p.m. ET (Showtime PPV). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Crawford vs. Spence Jr. odds, and make our expert boxing picks and predictions.
Records: Crawford (39-0-0, 30 KOs) | Spence Jr. (28-0-0, 22 KOs)
Crawford puts his WBO welterweight title on the line against Spence Jr., who has his WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and The Ring welterweight straps up for grabs.
Crawford snagged the WBO welterweight belt from Jeff Horn in June 2018, and he defended it against Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and David Avanesyan. Not only has he won all of those title defenses, but he has 8 straight KO/TKO victories.
Crawford holds a 2-inch reach advantage, while Spence Jr. is 18 inches taller, and he is 2 years younger. Spence Jr, a.k.a. “The Truth”, has won 78.57% of his bouts by KO/TKO, while Crawford has won via KO/TKO in 76.92% of his contests.
Spence Jr. snapped up the IBF World Welterweight Championship with an 11th-round KO/TKO against Brook in May 2017, and he defended that belt with a win over Lamont Peterson in Brooklyn in Jan. 2018. He added the WBC belt to his collected, edging Mikey Garcia via unanimous decision, and he grabbed the WBA super world welterweight belt in April 2022 by stopping Yordenis Ugas by TKO last time out.
Crawford vs. Spence Jr. odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:40 a.m. ET.
- Fight result (2-way line): Crawford -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Spence Jr. +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
- Over/Under: 11 rounds (Over -225 | Under +175)
- Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -190 | No +138)
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Crawford vs. Spence Jr. picks and predictions
Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)
The atmosphere is going to be electric, and one of these fighters will be walking away with the undisputed title. I like SPENCE JR. (+120) to get it done in a slight upset.
Fight fans might see a bit of a slow start to this one, and the pace will irritate people initially. But it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’ll get some big-time haymakers exchanged in the middle-to-late rounds. Spence is a little more aggressive, while Crawford is more tactical and calculating.
I like Spence to do more to wow the judges, and taking SPENCE JR. ON POINTS (+260) is certainly worth a roll of the dice to multiply your initial wager by more than 2 1/2 times.
Over/Under (O/U)
Since I like Spence Jr. to win in a decision, playing YES (-190): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE is the way to go. While that’s a little too expensive for my liking, if you want a little action, and do not wish to declare a winner, that’s the conservative play.
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