Errol Spence Jr vs. Eimantas Stanionis a possibility

Image: Errol Spence Jr vs. Eimantas Stanionis a possibility
By Boxing News - 10/21/2022 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr could face unbeaten WBA ‘regular’ champ Eimantas Stanionis now that Terence Crawford has bowed out to face David Avanesyan.

There’s also a possibility that Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) could move up to 154 to begin campaigning. in that weight class. Earlier today, Spence mentioned that he might move up to junior middleweight.

Given that Crawford is taking what amounts to be a tune-up against Avanesyan on December 10th, it’s quite likely that Spence will opt to stay busy as well.

Yesterday, Spence complained on Twitter that he was missing out on a fight in November because of Crawford’s “stalling.” But now that Crawford is no longer in the picture, nothing is holding Spence back from fighting in November or December.

Mike Coppinger states that Spence’s manager Al Haymon has had talks with Stanionis’ management about a potential fight. If it comes off, Spence-Stanionis would be a decent fight, but nowhere near the excitement of Spence vs. Crawford.

Another option would be for Spence to defend against Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman. That fight would bring in more money for Spence, as the boxing public is more familiar with former WBA & WBC welterweight champion ‘One Time’ Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) than they are Stanionis.

The 2016 Olympian Stanionis has wins over Radzhab Butaev, Thomas Dulorme, and Luis Collazo.

With Thurman’s marketing skills, he would make a fight between him and Spence a huge one. However, Spence said that he would never fight Thurman because he never gave him a title shot earlier in his career when he held the WBA 147-lb title from 2015 to 2017, and Errol had wanted a title shot.

“It’s really disappointing that we’re not going to get Spence-Crawford, at least next. I spoke with Terence Crawford last night, and he told me he’d signed a contract to fight David Avanesyan. It’s going to be on December 10th in Crawford’s native Nebraska on pay-per-view,” said Mike Coppinger on Twitter.

“It’s a good fight, but it’s a big disappointment when we were expecting Crawford-Spence. Crawford told me he wasn’t ready to go an entire year without fighting.

“He hasn’t fought since Shawn Porter in November of last year, and as talks with Errol Spence continue to drag on and drag on, November 19th was the target date, and then it got pushed to the first quarter of 2023. Crawford said, ‘I need to fight, and then after that, we can revisit the Spence fight.’

“Errol Spence, he alluded to possibly moving up in weight on Twitter. He fought at 152 in the Olympics, and 147 is not easy for him. He’s a bigger guy than Terence Crawford. It’s conceivable that he could move up to 154, or I’m told he has been in talks. Not him, but Al Haymon and the side for Stanionis have been in talks for a fight.

“Eimantas Stanionis is the WBA’s #1 contender. Spence holds three belts. That’s a possible fight for the first quarter of 2023 for Errol Spence. I supposed he could wait for amounts to be pretty much a tune-up fight for Crawford.

“If not, it’s going to be Spence-Stanionis because remember, Spence has been steadfast all along that he refuses to fight Keith Thurman, which is the other viable fighter with Al Haymon because he wouldn’t give Spence a crack [at the 147-lb titles all those years ago,” said Coppinger.