By Jim Calfa: Errol Spence Jr will be taking a test run at 154 in his fight with Keith Thurman in April, and, likely, he won’t return to the 147-lb division afterward.
With the difficulty that Spence has in making the 147-lb limit, staying at 154 permanently makes sense for him after the Thurman fight. If Spence thinks it was hard for him to make the 147-lb limit before, just wait until he tried to make weight after fighting at 154 against Thurman.
It would make sense for Spence to return to the welterweight division if there was a big-money mega-bout available to him in the weight class, but there isn’t.
No reason for Spence to return to 147
Terence Crawford, although he’s talented, he’s NOT a PPV attraction, and he never has. Crawford’s recent fight with David Avanesyan on BLK Prime PPV on December 10th is rumored to have brought in abysmal numbers on pay-per-view.
The only upside for Spence fighting Crawford is for ego/legacy purposes because the match won’t register with casual boxing fans because of Terence’s lack of popularity.
The other young welterweights, Jaron Ennis, Roiman Villa, and Rashidi Ellis, aren’t worth it for Spence to return to the 147-lb division because they’re on the level of Crawford in terms of popularity or lack thereof.
Returning to 147 will be too difficult
It’s doubtful that Spence will even try because he’s not going to want to drain himself, especially when it involves him fighting these killers: Terence Crawford, Jaron Ennis, Eimantas Stanionis, and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Under normal circumstances, Spence’s fight with Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) should be taking place at 147 because the WBC ordered Errol to defend his welterweight title against him.
Instead, Spence is using his A-side position to have the match take place at 154, and it’s reported that this will satisfy his WBC mandatory.
If Spence decides to stay at 154, as many believe will be the case, then he no longer needs to worry about his IBF mandatory Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. That is supposed to be negotiated within 120 days after Spence’s April match.
As reported by ESPN, the WBA is giving Spence 60 days to attempt to negotiate a fight with Terence Crawford for the undisputed at 147 after his fight with Thurman. If Spence doesn’t make that fight, he’s got to face the Eimantas Stanionis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. winner.
Spence’s opposition at 154
Unless Spence is going to fight his good friend Jermell Charlo, he will face similar bland opposition at 154 that he competed against at 147.
Of course, the upside is that Spence will extend his career because there are not too many guys that will trouble him other than Charlo, who is expected to move up to 160 and vacate his belts.
Options for Spence at 154:
- Tim Tszyu
- Sebastian Fundora
- Tony Harrison
- Brian Castano
- Israil Madrimov