By Kenneth Friedman: Terence Crawford doesn’t want to fight Errol Spence Jr. in his first fight back from his car crash, as he’s afraid that he WON’T receive credit for beating him. Spence Jr. crashed his Ferrari on October 10 and was ejected from the automobile as it tumbled. As of now, no one really knows if Spence is the same guy from before his crash.
Crawford doesn’t want to be put in a “lose-lose” situation by fighting Spence, and getting zero credit after he beats him.
Spence hasn’t fought since the accident, and there’s worry among boxing fans that he might not be the same fighter he was previously.
WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) says he doesn’t want to be hounded for the remainder of his career that he beat Spence AFTER his car crash. Fans will say that the only reason Crawford beat Spence is because he wasn’t the same guy after the car crash.
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) has already said that he wants to face Danny Garcia next when he returns to the ring. If not Danny, then Spence wants to fight Manny Pacquiao or Keith Thurman.
Crawford in no hurry to fight Spence
“The fight with you and Spence, as you said, ‘Massive’ whenever it happens when you guys talk to each other, do you put dates on it?” said Chris Mannix to DAZN in talking to Crawford. “Do we do this in February 2021. Do you throw dates out there?”
“Nah, Nah, when it happens, it happens,” said Crawford on a fight with Spence. “It’s like you can’t put any dates on anything. We got to go to the network. All that. You got to go to your handlers.
“He’s with Al Haymon, and I’m with Bob Arum of Top Rank, you know?” said Crawford on a match against Spence. “They’re going to sit at the table, and we got to talk sooner or later. He [Spence] said he’s going right into a fight with Danny Garcia, Pacquiao, or me,” said Crawford.
If Spence is fasting better opposition that Crawford and winning in an impressive manner, it’s going to give him an advantage in negotiations. Crawford wants a 50-50 deal, but Spence probably won’t give it to him if he’s facing better opponents.
Terence wants Spence to take tune-up first
“I told him, me personally, ‘Don’t come back and try to fight me because that’s not the fight you really want on your first fight coming back.’ I wouldn’t even take that fight if it were offered to me because it’s a lose-lose situation for me,” said Crawford.
“If something were to happen and I knocked him out or beat him up bad, they’ll say, ‘He’s not the same Errol Spence, and he’s coming off of a car accident. That would never end throughout my whole career.
“Even after my career, people would still be talking about how I fought Errol Spence after he was in a car accident, and I didn’t want to fight him before the car accident. That would be the story of my life.
“So I just want to see him back to the old Errol Spence that he used to be, and then me and him are going to fight,” said Crawford.
“You’re probably right. Him [Spence] needing to get back in the ring and beating somebody that would take away any doubt about a fight with you what it would mean,” said Mannix on Spence needing to take a tune-up before facing Crawford.
For Crawford to receive full credit for beating Spence, he would need to take a lot of tune-ups. Spence fighting just once won’t be enough for the doubters out there to say that he’s 100% and ready to fight Crawford.
Crawford with no preference about next opponent
“I think that’s the best way to go. If he does that, Terence, what do you do in the interim?” said Mannix. “Do you have any idea about what you want to do and who you want to fight, and what weight you want to fight at?”
“Well, my managers and coaches, they threw out a lot of options for me,” said Crawford on his next fight. “So we got Kell Brook. We got that fight if we want. We got a few options we can go to,” said Crawford.
“Does any of those excite you more than the others and get your blood flowing more than the other,” said Mannix.
“Not really. Like I said, it’s a fight, my blood is always going to be boiling,” said Crawford in making it clear he has no preference in who he faces next. “That’s just the competitive nature in myself. But yeah, you’ve got to fight what’s in front of you.
“I never overlook any opponent for any fighter. So in my eyes, if any of those fights were presented and made, then that would just be the fight that I have in front of me,” said Crawford in not showing any preference about his next fight.
It’s interesting that Crawford doesn’t have a preference when it comes to his next opponent. By Crawford taking so little interest in the opposition he faces, it makes it easier for his promoters to match him against no names. A lot of fighters would have complained a lot time ago if they were in the same situation as Crawford.
Terence does get more motivated for bigger fights
“Are you always so even-keeled, even in your indication fights at 140. Are you always the same way going into fights? Do you ever get picked up more than for other ones?” said Mannix to Crawford.
“Yeah, of course, you’re going to get more picked up more,” said Crawford. “For my undisputed fights, I was on like 20, you know? For Victor Postol, I was on 20. But for Felix Diaz and John Molina, I was on 12.
“But at the same time, I try to train harder for my present camp than in my last camp. That takes away everything,” said Crawford.
Terence obviously does prefer to fight the bigger names, but it’s been such a long time since he was put in with a guy that appeared to motivate him. The problem that Crawford has is his promoters at Top Rank haven’t been able to get the top fighters to face him at 147.
This was less of a problem for Crawford when he fought at 140, considering that there weren’t any big names in the division. At 147, Crawford has no one to fight at all. He says he has several options for fights, but he’s still unlikely to face a good opponent in his next bout.
These are the likely options for Crawford:
- Kell Brook
- Sergey Lipinets
- Mikael Zewski
