By Chris Williams: Terence Crawford revealed today that his rematch with Errol Spence Jr. will be in December at 147 lbs, and he’s already in training for the fight.
Crawford says the contract states that either fighter is supposed to notify in writing if they can’t make weight for the 147-lb welterweight match. Since he didn’t hear anything from Spence (28-1, 22 KOs), the rematch will be at 147.
If he wanted to be fair, the Nebraska native Bud Crawford could choose to take the rematch at 154, but it’s pretty clear that he prefers 147, as that makes it an easier fight and decreases the chances of him losing to Spence. If Errol is weight-drained, a victory for Crawford is a sure thing.
A full-strength Spence at 154 would be a nightmare potentially for Crawford; hence, he’s choosing to take the rematch at 147 to remove the potential of him getting beaten up and losing. It’s a clever move by Crawford and gives you a glimpse of his opportunist psyche.
Interestingly, Crawford still has aspirations to jump the line by challenging Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight, getting a shot ahead of more deserving 168-pounders David Benavidez, David Morrell Jr., Diego Pacheco & Demetrius Andrade.
“He exercised the rematch, and that’s the fight that should happen next, so we shall see how the negotiations go,” said Terence Crawford to Travis Hartman’s Chat room about the rematch with Errol Spence.
“We’re supposed to fight in December, and I’m back in training. The contract states that either one or the other has got to notify in writing that he can no longer make the weight. If not, the fight will be at 147.
Crawford can’t go the WBO ‘Super Champ’ route to force a title shot against Canelo, as that only works for one weight division. In other words, if Crawford wants to be mandatory for the WBO belt, he can do that for the 154-lb title.
But he can’t use the WBO ‘Super Champ’ method to make himself mandatory for Canelo’s 168-lb title with that organization. That would make a joke of the sport if sanctioning bodies would allow their belt holders to move up any weight they wanted to challenge for titles in divisions they’d never fought in and lacked the body frame.
If that were allowed, we could see tiny WBO champions in the lower-weight classes using the ‘Super Champion’ method to challenge the heavyweight champions so that they can get a big payday.
“The contract states that it has to go at 147. Since neither I nor Errol notified each other, stating that we can’t make the weight,” said Crawford.
“There’s no comparison. When you compare Errol Spence to Terence Crawford, there is no comparison. My career, I’m already going to the Hall of Fame. If we retire right now, he’s not going to the Hall of Fame,” said Crawford.
As you can see here, Crawford is sounding a bit insecure about his weak resume, recognizing that fans still view his 15-year resume as being filled with second-rate fighters and paper champions.
Unfortunately for Crawford, he can’t change the fans’ opinions by telling them how his resume is better than Spence’s and how he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
The reality is that Crawford is just another Adrien Broner type, a fighter with many division world title victories, but all of them came against weak champions or fighters. Broner captured four division titles, but like Crawford, he did it against lackluster opposition.
If Crawford’s division world titles had come against these fighters, you could give him more credit and say he’s worthy of the Hall of Fame:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis – 147
- Teofimo Lopez – 140
- Shakur Stevenson – 135