By Sean Jones: Errol Spence Jr wants a 60/40 split for the fight with Terence Crawford, but he says he’s willing to negotiate with him to get the fight made. IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) clearly knows that if he asks for too much, he’ll end up missing out on the fight.
Even at 50/50, Spence can make a lot of money fighting Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) on pay-per-view and in front of a live crowd in Texas. It’s the fight in boxing right now.
The only fight that might rival Spence vs. Crawford is the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua contest. However, that match lost some of its shine after Joshua’s knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019. AJ isn’t looked at in the same way now by fans as he was before that loss.
Spence and Crawford are two fighters that the fans really admire, and they know this will be a great action-packed contest from start to finish.
As long as Spence was still physically and mentally the same since his car crash a year ago, we should see an excellent fight between him and Crawford.
Spence wants a 60/40 split with Crawford
“Oh yeah, definitely,” said Spence when asked by The Pug & Copp Boxing Show if he would want a 60/40 split for a fight against Crawford. “I definitely should get a bigger share.
The proof is in the pudding. I’m the bigger draw. He’s a great fighter, has a lot of skills and a lot of ability, but I feel like 60-40 is the right price. But it’s about sitting at the table.
“We haven’t sat at the table. My manager and his promoter have to sit at the table and talk. The discussions will really come in once my manager gets in it, and his promoter come in it because I don’t know what the f*** BoMac [Crawford’s trainer] do. My manager isn’t going to talk to no damn BoMac about the fight,” said Spence.
Well look like that fight will never happen 🤷🏿♂️
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) November 19, 2020
Crawford’s comment does seem like he made in response to Spence saying he wants a 60/40 split. Surprisingly, Spence is still talking about wanting the lion’s share because he said that two years ago.
You’d think by now, Spence would have come down from that stance to accept a more reasonable 50-50. Even if Spence believes that Crawford isn’t good enough to beat him, he still needs to give him that deal if he wants the fight to happen.
Crawford fight is possible
“It’s definitely possible. It’s a fight that could happen,” said Spence about him fighting Crawford. “I feel right now; the money’s not right with the network and the guys with the suits that manage me and promote him sit down and talk.
“But I feel like it’s a fight that could happen. I want to fight him, and he wants to fight me. After this fight [with Danny Garcia], it’ll be time to sit down and talk and find out if the possibility of us happening.
“It’s a fight that can take place, but it just needs to be worked out and talked about. Until Bob [Arum] and Al [Haymon] come together and establish the numbers about who all gets what, it’s all a possibility.
“Right now, I’m focusing on Danny Garcia and trying to get him out of the way,” said Spence.
As you can see, Spence is open to making the fight with Crawford happen. He doesn’t sound like he’s going to be unyielding when it comes to the financial aspect of the fight.
If the only way that Spence can get the Crawford fight is by giving him a 50/50 split, he may do it.
First, Errol needs to take care of Danny Garcia before starting looking to 2021 to fight WBO welterweight champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) for his title.
Errol doesn’t remember hitting the concrete
“I don’t remember hitting the concrete. I was knocked out cold,” said Spence about his car crash. “I don’t remember anything.
“At least three fights,” said Spence about the number of fights he has left at 147. “My top three are Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford, and Danny Garcia. Right now, I don’t care to fight him [Keith Thurman] at all, but we’ll see.
“It’s funny how he wants to fight me so bad now and when I wanted to fight him, ‘I was a young boy and this and that.’ It’s kind of ironic. I always said on Twitter when it’s Keith’s turn, you live and learn,” Errol said.
It’s scary to imagine Spence hitting the canvas, being knocked out, and then not remembering the impact. That’s a little troubling given that he’s about to take on a huge puncher in Danny Garcia.
Ideally, Spence should be taking on a lesser fighter than Garcia to make sure he’s 100% all there physically.
If Spence loses this fight, he’s going to have many people criticizing his arrogance in facing such a dangerous puncher like Garcia after such a serious car crash.
Danny Garcia is not being overlooked
“No, I never considered that. I wanted to come back how I left,” said Spence when asked if he wanted a soft touch for his next fight due to his car crash.
“Everyone expected me to take a lesser opponent, and even if I’d beaten that opponent and beaten him up, they’d have said, ‘You were supposed to do it to this guy.
“Do it to somebody that can fight back.’ I felt that with Danny Garcia, that would answer my questions and that would answer the public’s questions.
“It would definitely get the ball rolling to pre-accident. It’s a fight that would get me 100% focused because I’m in a real fight. I got to be prepared because Danny Garcia is someone that can capitalize on anyone if they slack off.
“I think his timing, his poise, and his willingness to stay in there and throw shots in the fire. I’m not worried about what happens in his career after we fight and him being desperate and things like that.
“For me, I’m just coming off of a car accident, so I’m just focused on myself and my abilities, and I want the win,” said Spence.
Danny Garcia is too dangerous for Spence to be looking past, especially with him coming off of the car accident. If Spence goes in there thinking it’s going to be an easy night’s work, Danny could surprise him.
Garcia, 32, is really looking forward to this fight because it means a lot to him.
Besides the big payday, Garcia wants to prove his doubters wrong, who aren’t giving any chance of beating Spence. Garcia wants to show the fans that he’s better than they think he is.
Errol wants Canelo and Pacquiao
“If I got hit with shots that I shouldn’t have and if my reflexes weren’t what they were supposed to be,” said Spence when asked if he saw anything that made him think he wasn’t recovered from the car crash.
“I had my dad watching me and my coach. I’d have retired and called it quits. I said, ‘Okay, everything is clicking.’
“Definitely, that fight would be huge at the Cowboy’s Stadium at 160 or 20,” Spence said about Canelo Alvarez.
“That’s a fight that can happen. He doesn’t have a promoter or anyone that he’s tied to. So I think that’s a fight that can definitely happen.
“To me, it’s not a race. Manny Pacquiao is going to pick who he wants to fight,” said Spence. “I feel like a fight between me and Manny makes more sense.
“We can fight at Cowboy’s stadium in front of 100,000 fans. he can get what he wants and I can get what I want. If it happens it happens, if not, it’s not.
“I don’t see it as Kell Brook from three years ago. So I feel like Kell Brook needs to retire,” said Spence.
There’s a possibility that Spence could fight Manny Pacquiao in 2021, but I wouldn’t say there’s a strong chance of it happening. Pacquiao hasn’t fought in over a year, and he might be about done due to the pandemic.
If Manny does fight, Mikey Garcia is the likely direction he’ll go in rather than taking a risky match against Errol.
For Spence to get a fight with Canelo, he’ll need to make that move after he moves up to 154. Spence would be silly to go up to 168 to fight Canelo without first testing himself at 154.