Terence Crawford is now a promotional free agent after his one-fight deal with PBC has expired for his rematch with Errol Spence.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) signed a one-fight contract with Premier Boxing Champions [PBC] for a rematch against the former unified welterweight champion Spence. His cataract surgery last January got in the way of the two meeting for a second fight.
There’s a huge demand for the two-time undisputed champion Crawford now after his impressive win last July against Spence, and it’ll be interesting to see where he winds up.
Crawford wanted to move up three weight classes to face Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship. However, the Mexican superstar shot down that idea, saying there would be no gain for him.
How Did This Happen?
Spence exercised his rematch clause after being stopped in the ninth round by Crawford last July in their mega-fight in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Spence’s cataract eye surgery last January prevented Crawford from facing before his one-fight contract with PBC elapsed.
Some fans believe that PBC wasn’t eager to stage a second fight between Crawford and Spence after how one-sided their first match was last July. Trying to sell a rematch between the two on Amazon Prime PPV would have likely been disastrous for PBC.
The eye surgery for Spence has saved PBC the trouble of trying to drum up interest for the rematch, which, at this point, doesn’t seem like it’ll ever happen.
“Crawford signed a one-fight deal with PBC to meet Errol Spence last July, and after “Bud” won the undisputed welterweight championship, Spence exercised the rematch clause,” said Mike Coppinger of ESPN.
“However, Spence underwent cataract surgery in January, and the scheduling window provided by the rematch clause has since expired, meaning Crawford, like Canelo, is also a network and promotional free agent.”
Crawford’s Options: Where to Next?
So where does the 36-year-old Crawford go next? He’s got the talent and popularity for one of the promoters to offer him a short-term contract, but he’s clearly too old to be given a long-term deal:
- Re-signing with PBC: Returning to Al Haymon’s PBC might not be worth it for Crawford, given the exit of Canelo Alvarez, his primary target, and the lack of interest from fans in seeing a rematch with Spence.
- DAZN Power Move: Inking with DAZN would open the mouth-watering options for Crawford to face Canelo Alvarez, Devin Haney, Subriel Matias, and Conor Benn. There’s a lot of money to be made for Terence fighting those talented fighters, and it would be an excellent way for him to put a cap on his career.
- Top Rank Reunion: The only fighters Top Rank has for Crawford are Teofimo Lopez and Josh Taylor. Teofimo looks mentally and physically shot at this career stage. It’s not a fight that would sell. Former undisputed 140-lb champion Taylor isn’t well known by U.S. fans, and he’s seen as washed.