Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford won’t fight a rematch next for ” a variety of reasons,” says Dan Rafael.
For boxing fans hoping to see Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) get the chance to avenge his loss to WBA/WBC/WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) next, it won’t happen.
Cataract Surgery Throws a Curveball
Rafael reports that one reason the rematch did not take place is the 33-year-old Spence’s recent cataract surgery to correct an eye problem. It’s unclear how long Errol will be on the shelf recovering from his eye problem, but it might not be soon.
This means Crawford will need to take a different approach to his next fight, and he’s obviously hoping it will be against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in May or September.
More Than Just Eyesight
Rafael’s comment about the Crawford-Spence rematch not happening due to a “variety of reasons” suggests that it’s more than just an eye issue for the match to take place.
You’d have to assume that the money would be one of the chief reasons because there’s a lot of fan interest in seeing a rematch after the way Crawford destroyed Spence in nine rounds last July on Showtime PPV.
Would PBC be able to guarantee Crawford & Spence the same purses as they did last July? That would be very hard, and the fight might do poorly on Amazon Prime PPV. If you’re Spence, do you want to get back in the ring with Crawford after suffering the kind of beatdown he took last year?
Fans Left in the Dark
If Spence doesn’t fight Crawford again, who does he face that will give him the kind of money that he would have gotten fighting him? Even if the dough isn’t nearly as good as last time, Spence would still likely make more than he would by fighting one of the contenders at 154.
Moving forward, Crawford obviously wants to make as much money as he can, and he can make a ton of it fighting Canelo for his four super middleweight titles if the Mexican superstar picks him out in one of his two fights this year.
