By Chris Williams: The November 19th undisputed welterweight clash between unified champion Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford is currently in jeopardy over the contract.
WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) wants transparency to the expenses for the event because he’s not getting a guaranteed purse. Crawford will be getting a percentage of the net revenue for the fight. As a result, he wants the power to be able to approve or reject expenses for the fight.
Mike Coppinger reports that the Spence vs. Crawford fight will be moved from November 19th to December or January. If there’s no deal soon, the recently turned 35-year-old Crawford will want to take a tune-up bout, which will delay the Spence fight.
“Spence and Crawford had agreed to terms with Crawford set to earn the short end of the financial split, ESPN reported earlier this month. The issue: Crawford wants transparency related to event expenses since the contract contains no guaranteed purse, sources said,” said Coppinger at ESPN.
If Crawford chooses to dig his heels and refuse to give in on his assistance to approve expenses, it’ll put Spence’s management in a position of whether to agree to Terence’s demands or just walk away from the fight.
It could come down to how much Crawford wants the Spence fight. If Crawford chooses not to give in, he could wind up with nothing, and will have to move on. Like Spence, Crawford is talking about wanting to move up to 154, a division that he lacks the size to compete in.
There are only a couple of big-money fights available at 154, and you got to imagine Spence would be in a better position to get those matches before Crawford.
Undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo is cool with the idea of fighting Crawford. It could take years before Crawford gets a chance to fight Charlo.
Spence’s popularity is at such a level that he can make huge money fighting Keith Thurman, Conor Benn, Vergil Ortiz Jr, or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis at 147. He doesn’t need Crawford to make huge money and create interest.
If Spence moves up to 154, he’s got these excellent fights available to him:
- Jermell Charlo
- Sebastian Fundora
- Tim Tszyu
- Brian Castano
- Tony Harrison
- Israil Madrimov
- Erickson Lubin
