By Chris Williams: Unified welterweight champion Errol Spence says he only wants a fight with WBO 147-lb champ Terence Crawford for his next fight. Spence states that he’s had a phone conversation with Crawford, and it “went well.” The negotiations between them are continuing, and he’s hopeful.
Errol isn’t saying what the hold-up is that’s keeping the negotiations from being completed. Still, some boxing fans believe it’s Crawford asking for too much after getting a ton of dough in his one-fight deal with BLK Prime to face fringe contender David Avanesyan last December.
While Spence-Crawford is still a good fight, it’s not what it would have been if the two had fought in their primes when they were both active and hungry fighters. Unfortunately, Spence & Crawford have hurt their carers by seldom fighting and NOT fighting the opposition fans want to see them face.
It would be saying a lot of Spence forgot about Crawford and focused on fighting the young killer Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because that’s the main threat coming for him. Boots is the guy Spence should be worrying about instead of 36-year-old Crawford, but he’s likely thinking only in business terms. Crawford is better known than Boots, but sadly, still not a household name.
With as big as Spence looks now after a 13-month layoff, it’s questionable whether he can even make the 147-lb limit without draining himself to the point where he’ll be a punching bag for Boots.
The IBF, WBA & WBC 147-lb champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t fought in over a year [13 months], and his career has slowed dramatically in the last three years, with him fighting just twice against Yordenis Ugas in April 2022 and Danny Garcia in 2020.
“I’m a man of my word. I’m not trying to fight anybody else but him. Me and Crawford, we’re talking directly. We were on the phone for 30 minutes. It went well, and our teams are still negotiating. It’s going very well,” said Errol Spence to On The Rocks about the long-awaited fight between him and Terence Crawford.
What Spence & Crawford should be doing is fighting three times a year instead of annually because many boxing fans have long forgotten about these guys. As the saying goes, ‘Out of sight, out of mind,’ and that’s the problem with these two.
Spence has made a lot of money in the last few years, and it’s unclear what kind of ambition he has to put into his career. You can argue that if Spence weren’t a millionaire, he would have fought Crawford long ago and stayed busy with his profession.
Boxing fans doubt the 33-year-old Spence and 36-year-old Crawford will ever fight, as they’ve been talking about this clash for the last six years without doing anything.
Both of their careers, Spence & Crawford, have slowed due to inactivity and lackluster opposition. Crawford has fought only once a year since 2020.
