By: Sean Crose
Color me cautiously skeptical. In this I’m probably like many fight fans out there upon hearing the whispers that welterweight kingpins Errol Spence and Terence Crawford are set to throw down in June to see who will be crowned the undisputed divisional champion. While it would be wonderful if the news, originally reported by The Ring, is true, the fight world has been down this road before. Negotiations between the two fighters fell apart last year, after all. With that being said, it appears that these two decorated titlists really do want to settle things in the ring – which usually means the fight will be made at some point.
I say “usually” because we have now entered an era where more big fights fall apart than make it to the opening bell. Take negotiations for Fury-Usyk, for instance. Or negotiations for Fury-Joshua a few months back. Or the long awaited rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, or the previous negotiations between team Spence and team Crawford. Still, it looks like there may be real movement here, as numerous outlets are pointing to sources who at least partially back up the whispers. Sure, Crawford posted “April Fools” on social media, but did that mean the fight wasn’t happening? The evidence – at least for the moment – suggests otherwise.
The truth is that this match is too long in coming. Indeed, it’s past it’s sell by date as it is – though only slightly. After negotiations between the two camps fell apart last year it was understandable why some fans decided the bout simply wasn’t going to happen. And indeed, they may still be proven right. Again, though, at the very least there seems to be a good amount of movement here between the two camps. Although a Spence-Crawford bout probably wouldn’t be as big as this spring’s Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia throwdown, it would be an enormous event in the sport nonetheless.
For both these men are undefeated talents who are extremely skilled. Spence holds the WBA, WBC, and IBF world welterweight titles while Crawford holds the WBO. The list of foes who have fallen at the gloved fists of each man is impressive. Amir Khan, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Yordenis Ugas and Danny Garcia are just a few of the combined 60 plus opponents these fighters have faced and conquered. Now – hopefully – they will finally get the opportunity to battle each other.
Let’s see.
