By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
I know what you're thinking. Why should I, someone who lives in the Nebraska Panhandle watch boxing. I promise you, if there was ever a day, ever a fight, it is this Saturday. If you're Nebraskan, you support other Nebraskans, and one of yours is competing in arguably the biggest boxing match a Nebraskan has been in since Max Baer of Omaha defeated Max Schmeling in 1933.
Fast forward to almost 100 years, on Saturday night Omaha's Terence Crawford will battle Dallas's Errol Spence for the Undisputed Welterweight Championship, in a clash years making. ESPN has Crawford the #1 fighter in the world and Spence #4, and the winner of this fight will arguably be named the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, which if Crawford wins would be huge for Nebraska.
If you're still reading this and you're from the Nebraska Panhandle, you might be wondering, if this Terence Crawford guy from Omaha is so good and this is such a big event, why haven't I heard of it? A couple of things, most big fights are on Pay Per View and boxing isn't as accessible as it was years ago, but being the boxing nerd I am, I have followed Crawford's career since about 2015 and all he has done is destroy every opponent he's faced, on his way to winning multiple championships in three weight classes. An issue is his fights have rarely been on TV and despite his greatness, Crawford will always be behind the Cornhuskers and other teams in terms of media coverage in Nebraska.
This fight on Saturday in Las Vegas on Saturday though is different. Crawford's opponent Errol Spence has been a longtime champion at Welterweight and is the naturally bigger fighter in this matchup, but Crawford has that Nebraskan grit that he has shown his entire career.
It's the biggest fight of the year and truly a 50-50 event between two great champions. Unfortunately for some fight fans, some will have to choose between the biggest boxing card of the year and a UFC PPV card on the same night. But with Nebraska's Terence Crawford looking to make history, it should be an easy choice.