By Chris Williams: Tim Bradley got on Errol Spence’s case last night in blaming him for the Terence Crawford fight not happening, saying that Errol is looking to cash out before retiring.
Speaking on ESPN, Bradley asked about why would IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) be interested in going up to middleweight to take on Canelo Alvarez without facing Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs), who fights in the same division as him at 147?
What ESPN commentator Bradley isn’t saying is Crawford has already talked himself out of the fight with Spence by insisting on getting a 60-40 split.
Spence recently offered Crawford a fair split of 60-40 or 70-30, but he wasn’t willing to agree to that. Crawford wants the lion’s share of the dough, which he’s not in the position to get due to Spence being the A-side.
At this point, it’s not worth it for Spence to face Crawford because it doesn’t make sense financially. Crawford isn’t a big name with the casual boxing fans, and he wants too much money to be feasible.
Bradley: Spence vs. Crawford won’t happen
“It’s not going to happen, I don’t see it happening,” said Tim Bradley to ESPN on a fight between Spence and Crawford. “Why would you go up and face Canelo, but you won’t face Terence Crawford in the same weight class as you.
“That’s a money thing for him [Spence]. I think Spence is at a point now, correct me if I’m wrong, I think he just wants to get the money and then leave the game, that’s it,” said Bradley about Spence.
Errol has too many options in terms of big fights against Canelo Alvarez, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and Manny Pacquiao to waste his time fighting Crawford.
Terence has talent, but he’s failed to build a fan base because of his fighting style and his reserved manner for marketing his matches.
Crawford’s personality is too reserved and retiring for him to get the fans excited about his fights.
Also, Crawford hasn’t fought the right type of opposition to increase his popularity to where it needs to be for him to get the fights that he wants against Spence, Pacquiao, and the other PBC fighters.
The only way that fight makes sense for Spence is to get the larger slice of the pie. Crawford’s promoter Bob Arum might not be willing to make the fight unless it’s a 50-50 deal, and Spence certainly isn’t going to do that.
I hate to say it but Crawford’s last fight against Kell Brook may be as good as it gets for him. Brook is the biggest fight of Crawford’s career, and it came three years too late.
Crawford signing with PBC won’t change anything
“He has no intentions of fighting Terence Crawford. I think even if Terence Crawford was to jump ship and go over there to PBC, I still don’t see the fight happening or there.
“And I stand by that until they actually sign the fight,” said Bradley.
Chris Williams agrees with Bradley about Crawford still not likely to get a fight against Spence if he signs with Premier Boxing Champions
What’s preventing Crawford from getting fights against Spence, Thurman, Porter, Danny Garcia, and Pacquiao isn’t his promoter. It’s the fact that he’s not popular and wants too much money.
If Crawford agreed to a 70-30 or 80-20 split against the PBC fighters like Spence and Pacquiao, he’d probably get the fights in a second.
In Pacquiao’s case, he’d likely want a huge amount of money to face Crawford, and the match likely wouldn’t bring in enough pay-per-view buys to cover his guaranteed purse.
Would Arum want to be on the hook to cover Pacquiao’s huge purse if the Crawford fight fails to generate substantial buys? Arum isn’t going to want to take a bath on that fight.
“I think Spence is at the point now where he just wants to get the money and then he wants to leave the game… He has no intention on fighting @TerenceCrawford.” @TimBradleyJr isn’t sold on Spence and Crawford ever fighting each other. pic.twitter.com/TxGwLOhmnW
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 27, 2020