By Craig Daly: Unbeaten welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford have a deal in the works for an undisputed fight in October in Las Vegas.
ESPN is reporting the news of the Spence-Crawford deal, and they’re saying that “no real stumbling blocks” are standing in the way of making the fight a reality.
If it gets made, the Spence vs. Crawford fight will be shown on pay-per-view on PBC, either on Showtime or FOX.
With the Crawford-Spence fight taking place in October, it’ll give IBF/WBA/WBC 147-lb champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) more time to rest after his grueling tenth round knockout victory over WBA champion Yordenis Ugas on April 16th.
Spence was hurt by Ugas in that fight and took many shots before wearing down the Cuban fighter and stopping him due to an eye injury he had suffered.
Crawford, 34, has had it easy lately, breezing through the washed gatekeeper Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Amir Khan, Jose Benavidez Jr., and Jeff Horn.
Although Crawford has stayed unbeaten through his 14-year professional career, he’s not been matched particularly tough by his promoters at Top Rank.
The lackluster match-making for Crawford has held him back from becoming the superstar that he otherwise should be at this late stage in his career.
Crawford hasn’t fought a solid welterweight since moving up in weight in 2018, so it’s hard to guess how he’ll do being matched against his first upper-tier 147-pound fighter in Errol Spence Jr.
“Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford are closing in on a deal for an undisputed welterweight championship fight in October in Las Vegas, sources tell ESPN. No agreement yet, but no real stumbling block. PBC PPV for this genuine super fight,” said Coppinger.
Spence-Crawford is many years overdue fight, but better late than never. If Spence wins, he likely won’t be given full credit for the victory due to Crawford’s advancing age and because he hasn’t looked overly sharp in his last three contests.
We’ll see if the boxing world is excited about the Spence vs. Crawford fight once it’s made. The fans should be interested in seeing it because it’s now or never for Errol and Crawford.
With the 24-year-old Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis emerging as potentially the replacement for these two champions, they must fight now before they get beaten by him.
Ennis is arguably a younger, stronger, bigger version of Crawford, and he would be a nightmare for both of these guys to fight.
Both Spence and Crawford will be moving up to 154 after they fight this year, as they want to expand their horizons. You can argue that the emergence of Boots Ennis is the valid reason for these two champions choosing to move up to 154.
