Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford Betting Tips: Prediction for undisputed welterweight title fight

The boxing world is about to witness an unmissable spectacle this weekend as two elite welterweights, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford, put it all on the line in Las Vegas.

Join us as we explain the stakes to you leading into this bout, examine the odds and put together a case for a couple of betting selections.

Errol "The Truth" Spence Jr has proven a dominant force in the welterweight division, making his name as a formidable counter-puncher and backing it up with an impressive record of skilful victories.

He's the naturally bigger fighter of the two, intimating his post-fight plans to step up to 154lbs and take everybody out in that division. However, the loser's right to exercise a rematch may temporarily postpone this objective. He'll look to impose his size on Crawford, bring aggression, a high ring intelligence, and possesses deadly body punches.

Terence "Bud" Crawford is a technical mastermind. His footwork, defensive abilities and precision have established him as one of the sport's most skilled contemporaries.

Bud has moved up three weight classes to get here, but uniquely, has carried his power up on the long journey through those divisions. He's the slightly older fighter at 35, proving age to be nothing but a number due to his fast hands and razor-sharp counter-punching. He'll bring unparalleled versatility, a long reach and a masterful switch stance puzzle for The Truth to solve.

It's no wonder bookmakers and fight fans alike are having such a difficult time determining a winner. This really is a 50/50 fight. Despite holding three of the four belts - WBC, WBA and IBF - Spence enters Saturday's mega fight as the betting underdog at 11/8. Crawford is favoured ever so slightly as the more experienced individual at around the 4/6 mark, while the draw, which in usual circumstances would be largely ignored by punters, could tempt a few undecided bettors with 18/1 the best price quoted.

Spence Jr last fought competitively well over a year ago, sharing the ring just once since his December 2020 victory over Danny Garcia. Crawford is slightly fresher in that sense, knocking out David Avanesyan in the sixth round of their fight last December.

This contest is likely to be a back-and-forth battle, where both fighters' exceptional skills and southpaw stances force one another to make constant strategic adjustments due to the complexity of the matchup.

Given the level of prowess on display, it's hard to foresee either fighter stopping their opponent. The bookies have the Over Rounds line at 10.5 and go 4/9 for this selection, implying a 69.2% chance of occurring.

Bud, in our opinion, has the slight edge, seamlessly applying his switch stance manoeuvres and forcing Spence to adapt his game plan in the hopes of nullifying his adversary's unpredictable attacks.

In this high-stakes battle, neither fighter will want to give their opponent an inch, meaning we're very likely to see a top level chess match for the majority of this contest's duration, if not for the full 12 rounds.

With a Terence Crawford victory by decision or technical decision positioned at 2/1 in the market, there's a lot of appeal to the 7/1 on offer for him to win by split decision if taken to the judges' scorecards.

Spence's last four opponents were Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, indicating he's able to hang in there with the who's who of boxing. 75% of those fights were handed over to the judges to declare - a diversion in method for a fighter who boasts a 78.57% career knockout record.

For Crawford, recent opposition has included Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter and David Avanesyan. Although those fighters are all classy in their own right, they also each came with explicit disadvantages for Bud to exploit. At 35, the clock is running out for him to cement his legacy among the great welterweights; another good reason of why he'll bring those killer instincts to the party.

He's the more versatile of the two, and has a slightly larger array of tools at his disposal to tip the judges' opinions in his favour. Crawford is the type of fighter to take his time to figure out his opponents, and that's exactly what he'll need to do to overcome the colossal challenge of beating Errol Spence Jr.

Both boxers have very long unbeaten streaks, with Crawford looking slightly better prepared and holding a longer undefeated record. His ability to turn defence into offence is the perfect game plan to outpoint the three-belt champion and nicely set up a rematch between the two in the first quarter of 2024.