Paul Pierce is getting messy in the aftermath of Terence Crawford’s welterweight undisputed win over Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. over the weekend.
“That goes to show you there’s only one “Truth,” Pierce said from what appeared to be ringside inside the T-Mobile Arena after the fight. “There’s only one ‘Truth,’ there’s only one. You can’t just come out here and call yourself ‘The Truth,’ I got to hand that down to you; I got to give you them blessings. C’mon now, you can’t just be out here talking about you ‘The Truth,’ my boy. That ain’t how this works. C’mon now, there’s only one.”
Pierce has been known to speak his mind freely regardless of who is offended and his candid moments have led to his firing at ESPN as an analyst to now potentially offending a former world boxing champion.
Disrespectfully
One fighter who heard Pierce’s words sent a warning about the difference between talking disparagingly about a fighter on the losing end and stepping into the ring.
“Put him in the boxing ring pls,” former two-weight-class world champion and current lightweight contender Shakur Stevenson retweeted with the video of Pierce.
Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza heaped praise upon both Spence and Crawford for delivering on an event that fans had clamored for, leaving it all in the ring regardless of the outcome.
“Spence-Crawford was about two hard-working, supremely talented boxers chasing greatness,” Espinoza tweeted. “Congratulations to @terencecrawford on the win, and congrats & THANK YOU to both @ErrolSpenceJr & Bud for delivering a night on which the sport of boxing & its fans were the biggest winners.”
Are You Still Down?
The World Boxing Council posted an Errol Spence Jr. “Appreciation Post” to support the fallen champion.
“Dear @ErrolSpenceJr, you will always be our champion and we will always support you. Defeats are part of life and we know you are a resilient human being that will overcome this moment. Whatever’s next, you can always count with the WBC.”
Spence said in the post-fight in-ring interview that he wants to activate the rematch clause but at a higher weight class of 154 pounds. The fighter had said before the loss that he was looking to head up to light middleweight and likely feels he will have an advantage in a higher-weight rematch.
That would require negotiation with Crawford to make that fight in a new weight class, but many want to avoid seeing a rematch based on Crawford’s domination of Spence. However, when Spence recovers from Saturday’s action, he might need to address Pierce for putting disrespect on his nickname.
