By Chris Williams: Errol Spence Jr has rejected a fight against a recently knocked out Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, saying he’s not interested in a “tune-up.”
Romero was blasted out in six rounds last May by secondary WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and doesn’t seem interested in taking a pay cut to start over like most challengers after they get whipped.
Unfortunately for Rolly, Spence isn’t going to throw him a bone to give him another undeserved payday, so he will have to keep hounding Tank and Mayweather Promotions for a rematch.
Spence needs an opponent after he revealed today his frustrations over Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford “stalling for months,” costing him a fight in November against another opponent.
With the Crawford fight not happening, the only two money fights available for Spence at 147 are against Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Ion take tune ups ✌🏾 https://t.co/zs6tGN1glq
— Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) October 20, 2022
Nigga been stalling for months I could’ve fought in November …
— Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) October 20, 2022
Negotiating with the former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) might be just as much a headache for Spence as it’s been trying to put a fight together with Crawford. One can’t imagine that negotiations between Spence and old ‘One Time’ would happen quickly enough for Errol to fight in December.
On top of that, with Thurman’s injury & weight problems, it’s possible that he could get hurt in training camp and pull out of the fight with Spence. Although Thurman is only 33, he’s an OLD 33 and arguably closer physically to a fighter in his early 40s.
Rolly (14-1, 12 KOs) called out Spence this week in an interview, telling fans, “I’m coming for Spence.” But with how Rolly was talking wacky, it’s hard to know if he was serious about wanting to fight IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs).
So, where does this leave Crawford? He’s in bad shape because he’ll need to return to fight the type of opposition he has faced since he moved up to 147 in 2018.
Crawford hasn’t fought anyone that you can remotely call a good fighter since moving up to welterweight, and one can’t imagine that he’s going to be at all interested in risking his hide against a young killer like Boots Ennis.
If Crawford stays at welterweight, he will be under intense pressure to face Boots because, as I said, the Omaha, Nebraska native hasn’t fought anyone good yet since moving up in weight. At 35, I seriously doubt Crawford wants any of that smoke from Boots.
