Given the hype surrounding this fight, it's also not out of bounds to put Spence-Crawford in the same lineage of great welterweight unifications over the past half century that became front-page news across all of sports: Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns (1981), Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad (1999) and Mayweather-Pacquiao. But it didn't take long upon Crawford's arrival on the welterweight scene in 2018 to realize that not only was a clash between the two inevitable, boxing was dealing with a pair of truly all-time great fighters who could've succeeded in any era. While Spence has spent the entirety of his 11-year pro career at 147 pounds, Crawford has steadily moved up in stages while capturing titles in three weight divisions along way (including becoming the first four-belt undisputed champion in junior welterweight history). This fight holds up to historical comparisons just fine This will also be the first time in the four-belt era that a truly undisputed champion will be crowned in the prestigious 147-pound division.Ģ. The stakes for both fights are also similar as this one is set to determine who is the best current welterweight, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport and the best fighter of their own divisional era, all on the same night.

The difference, however, is Spence and Crawford are closer to their actual fighting primes than their welterweight predecessors at ages 33 and 35, respectively. Just how big is Spence-Crawford? This pair of unbeaten champions might not be on the same level of global fame as Mayweather and Pacquiao, but the hype surrounding Saturday's fight has been fueled by a similar five-year build of debates and mythical matchmaking until the business side of things were finally right.

Stakes on stakes: It doesn't get any bigger than this As we draw closer to this welterweight summit, let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines.

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