“Naoya Inoue is pretty damn special. During the year, he defeated twice: Stephen Fulton, whom many gave a chance to win, and then Marlon Tapales, a strong and very active fighter. So I understand why Inoue is chosen, but for me the best is Crawford. I know that people can argue with me: Teddy, he only had one fight in a year. Yes, but did you see who he fought with?
The question is not that Crawford won, but how he did it. He tore Spence literally into pieces. He was like a surgeon, removing piece after piece from Spence until it became hard to look at. It was hard to watch him tear apart a guy who was one of the pound-for-pound tops. That's the point.
Crawford wouldn't have taken this spot if he had beaten someone else, but it was Spence. To tear apart a fighter of this class, of this value, and in such a way, is wow,” Atlas said in an interview with ProBox TV.