By: Sean Crose
“It used to mean a lot more to me back when I was younger,” Errol Spence says on a video posted by ES News, “but right now it’s more about legacy. It’s more about getting a huge payday.” The undefeated WBA, IBF and WBC welterweight champion will soon be facing WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in a battle to find out who will be the division’s undisputed king. Yet the 28-0 Texan Spence appears to have a rather expanded view of things. Being undisputed is great, but there are other matters of importance.
“At the end of the day,” he says in the video, “you see a lot of fighters, even in the Hall of Fame, either they die broke or they were broke when they got into the Hall of Fame.” Sure enough, more than a few legendary boxers have ended up on the poorer side of the street. Some have been robbed by unscrupulous associates, some have been the victims of their own life decisions, some have been plagued by illness, and some have simply fallen upon difficult times. In the current era, however, popular fighters can demand enormous sums of money.
“With me it’s all about financial literacy,” says Spence, who will no doubt earn a ton when he squares off against Crawford in July, “and just making sure that I’m a hundred percent on point with my finances, so when it’s all said and done, I can retire peacefully (and) still be able to take care of my kids, still be able to do the things that I’ve been doing while I’m boxing.” Crawford has certainly made serious money throughout his career, having faced the likes of Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, and Mikey Garcia. Still, all those paydays likely pale to the kind of payday he’ll make facing Crawford.
It’s worth remembering, however, that Spence is indeed interested in more than just money. As he himself says in the video: “It’s about legacy.” The fact that Spence brings up “legacy” before “a huge payday” is telling. This isn’t a man simply looking to cash in. If that were the case, he could do quite well for himself fighting lesser talents than Crawford. He might not make quite the same sums he’s going to make now, but he would do quite well for himself nonetheless. There are indeed fighters who have plied their trade solely for income. Spence doesn’t appear to be that kind of individual, though he certainly wants to be paid and paid well.
And frankly, he deserves to be.