On 22nd April 1994, Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada, witnessed history. The WBA and IBF Heavyweight title holder Evander Holyfield defended his title against Michael Moorer. The story goes that as he found his trainee outmaneuvered by the second round, Teddy Atlas lashed at Moorer. Not allowed to sit, Moorer faced an angry Atlas, reportedly asking, “Do you want me to take over?” And Michael Moorer persevered and ultimately won with a majority decision.

Such was the reputation the Staten Island native Theodore A ‘Teddy’ Atlas Jr., or Teddy Atlas developed over a career that saw him train the likes of Michael Moorer, Alexander Povetkin, Timothy Bradley, and Wilfred Benitez. Then, of course, an earlier short assignment with Mike Tyson. It’s a different matter; the brief stint ended on a not-so-harmonious accord. His words carry substance—his opinion, valued by fans and critics alike. No wonder when he shared his strong views on the best pound-for-pounders in the current era, even the NBA analyst for ESPN couldn’t help but agree.

Michael Moorer’s trainer, Teddy Atlas, lists his favorite pound-for-pound

Stephen A Smith, ESPN’s commentator, was the invitee to the podcast The Fight with Teddy Atlas. Subscribed by over 200,000 viewers, the show is everything one might look for in a boxing show. Atlas’ co-host Ken Rideout began by asking Stephen the ‘number one’ in his pound-for-pound list. Smith, a featured columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, said it used to be Canelo Alvarez post his defeat at the hands of Dmitry Bivol. Instead, his pick fell on Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., Gervonta Davis, and finally, Artur Beterbiev.

Teddy added Bivol’s name. But Smith persisted with Beterbiev. The renowned coach added more particulars to his argument. But he finally admitted that despite lacking technical soundness, Beterbiev does stand out comparatively.

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Then he threw the Crawford – Spence Jr. question to Smith, “…as far as Spencer Crawford, who do you, all right, who’s better? Let’s put you on a little spot; who’s better?” Stephen Smith replied, “I personally believe that Terence Crawford is the better, more versatile boxer but I don’t think he’s the bigger, stronger fighter; I think that’s Errol Spence.”

Why Terence is good?

Per Smith’s contention, in a bout, if Terence is not able to knock the air out of Errol Spence Jr. first, then the outcome stands against him. But, at the same time, if the former manages to drag it till the penultimate round, the judges might unhesitatingly hand over the decision in his favor.

Atlas remarked, “…all right here you go I think Crawford stops him late in the fight.” Then, adding more meat to his assertions, he said that Errol Spence Jr. stands out as the better and stronger Welterweight; he is very technically solid. But when push comes to shove, he would choose Terence Crawford, “…but at the end of the day there’s one thing that Crawford has that I think is as good as any fight I’ve ever seen in my life you know what it is Steven so he’s got instincts he’s got certain kinds of instincts that that you know…”

Teddy explained the kind of insight Crawford holds in boxing. Adding to it, one might have never encountered a better switch-hitter than Terence Crawford. 

Thirty-five-year-old Omaha native Terence Allan Crawford began his professional career fourteen years ago. Thirty of the thirty-nine fights he has fought so far came about through knockouts. He won the WBO Welterweight title in 2018 and is yet to lose it to a challenger. There were talks about a much-anticipated fight with Errol Spence Jr this year. But the discussions collapsed at the negotiation table, leaving most fans heartbroken. 

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