By Dan Ambrose: #10 WBA welterweight contender Errol Spence (18-0, 15 KOs) is going to need a while longer for he can possibly get a fight against WBA “regular” welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs), because Thurman is saying that the 25-year-old Spence needs more experience before he can get a world title shot.
Thurman thinks that Spence is reaching too high by calling him out without having fought enough top guys to earn the title shot. Thurman thinks that Spence won’t be ready for a title shot for a little over a year until the first quarter of 2017.
In an unusual move, the World Boxing Association dropped Spence from #8 WBA to #10 WBA. In his place, the WBA moved Sadam Ali to #8, and inserted 43-year-old Shane Mosley to #7. They also have Teerechai Kratingdaenggym rated No. 6 ahead of Spence, as well as Dmitry Mikhaylenko at #9 with their organization. Neither of those fighters have the punching power that Spence has, and it doesn’t make sense for them to be ranked above him.
“He wasn’t in there with a banger,” Thurman said to Fighthype about Spence’s fight against Van Heerden. “I give him [Spence] another year and a quarter, possibly in 2017 is when it’s realist. Who’s going to be the first guy that steps to him? Once when he fights a few veterans…when he fights #9 or #8, because I’ve gone up, up and up. You just can’t shoot at the top dog. You’re reaching too far above yourself. You’ve got to climb the ladder and then go for the shot. I’m not trying to avoid nobody. I just want him to earn the stripes and then the fight’s a fight,” Thurman said.
Spence stopped #6 IBF Chris Van Heerden (23-2-1, 12 KOs) in the 8th round last Friday night on the undercard of the Adonis Stevenson vs. Tommy Karpency card at the Ricoh Coliseum, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
That at least gives Spence one top 10 contender. Thurman is talking about Spence needing three wins over top 10 contenders before he’ll be ready for a title shot. I don’t see that happening because Spence is too good.
It’s probably a miracle that Spence’s adviser Al Haymon was able to get Van Heerden to agree to a fight against him because the top fighters know by now how dangerous Spence is. Unless they’re going to get a big payday, I don’t see them agreeing to fight him.
Before Thurman got his shot at the WBA title, he’d only beaten Diego Chaves, Jan Zaveck and Carlos Quintana. It’s not as if Thurman beat any big names before he get a crack at the interim WBA title against Jesus Soto Karass.
It’s quite possible that Spence won’t get a title shot against Thurman until he’s ranked #1 by the World Boxing Association. I don’t see that happening until better known guys like Shawn Porter, Mosley, Marcos Maidana, Amir Khan and Sadal Ali get their turns at fighting for the title. I think it’s going to take a lot longer for Spence to get a title shot against Thurman than one year. I think it’s going to take years and years before those guys out of the way and Spence is ranked No.1.
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