By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS – They are dangerous men. They’re engaged in what Mike Tyson once called the hurt business. But on the eve of hostility, they didn’t threaten each other.
They shook hands.
Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., Brothers In Arms, reached across a scale Friday on a stage at T-Mobile Arena like partners, both agreeing to inflict the violence inherent to the business so aptly defined by Tyson.
By boxing’s modern standards, it was another unusual moment in what promises to be the biggest welterweight fight in years Saturday night on Showtime pay-per-view.
The last time two elite fighters stood on either side of a scale in Vegas, there was some unscripted drama. Devin Haney reached across with both hands, delivering a shove that sent Vasiliy Lomachenko tumbling on to the edge of the stage.
It was intended to generate attention and that’s what it got before Haney’s controversial unanimous decision over Lomachenko in late May.
But that shove was just more of the stuff that makes boxing look like another screaming exhibition of redundant outage.
Enter Crawford and Spence. They‘ve been trying to shove the business in another direction. It all depends on what happens in their much-anticipated fight for the 147-pound division’s undisputed title. Nobody is going to invest $84.99 in the pay-per-view to watch them shake hands.
Those hands are trained to hurt. Trained to spill blood. That’s why we watch. The danger is part of the attraction. But Crawford and Spence have been acting as if they know that. They know themselves. They know their audience.
Mostly, they know their craft and they don’t intend to dirty it up with trash talk or a pro-wrestling-like gesture.
Before the handshake, Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) leaned over and spoke to Spence (28-0, 22 KOs). What did he say?
“Nothing much, other than we’re about to make history,’’ said Crawford, who was a quarter of a pound lighter (146.75) at the staged weigh-in than he was at the official one Friday morning. “Best man wins.’’
That didn’t sound like the ever-defiant, often-angry Crawford, who got into a testy exchange with a Spence fan at a news conference Thursday. The fan mocked Crawford, who reacted profanely. It was if the fan was mocking more than just Crawford. He was mocking his craft.
From Crawford, the edgy counter was a rhetorical shove. He shoved that fan into silence.
Through it all, there has been some compelling byplay between Crawford and Spence. A deadly rivalry is at play between these Brothers-In-Arms. But only they can settle it.
They like to argue about who played the biggest role in making sure the fight happened after it looked as if the possibility was dead in the wake of failed negotiations last fall. Before their handshake, Spence said he offered thanks to Crawford.
“I said thank you for helping make this happen,’’ said Spence, who was two-tenths of a pound heavier (147) at the staged weigh-in than he was at the official one. “Of course, I was the one who made it.
“Hey, this is Spence-Crawford, not Crawford-Spence.’’
Who’s first or second won’t matter if the welterweight partnership delivers a singular performance that fulfills expectations and enhances a deadly craft.
