At long last, Spence-Crawford is on
Pound-for-pound stars and undefeated titleholders finally set to meet for the undisputed welterweight championship
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For the better part of five years, since Terence Crawford vacated the undisputed junior welterweight title and moved up to welterweight in mid-2018, when Errol Spence Jr. was in the early days of his title reign, they have circled each other.
As they remained undefeated, rose near the top of the pound-for-pound list and Spence unified three of the titles, a Spence-Crawford showdown became one of the most in-demand fights in boxing.
They teased the fans and media time and again. They argued on social media about how the other guy should “cross the street” because they were on different networks with different promoters.
They even got close to a deal to fight late last year and again earlier this year only to see the talks fail. But all along the fighters wanted their legacy bout, particularly Spence, who would not relent and skipped a fight to make sure he was available for Crawford.
They even spent time speaking directly to each other on the phone in an effort to see how they could work things out and, finally, at long last, they completed a deal on Thursday for one of the most historically significant fights in years.
They will meet on July 29 (Showtime PPV) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a true mega fight to unify all four major 147-pound belts with the winner emerging as the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era. Crawford has a chance to become the first male boxer in the four-belt era to achieve undisputed status in two divisions.
The winner will remain undefeated and likely be anointed by the masses as the pound-for-pound king.
The sides have been working to get the fight done for much of this year as Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions, Spence’s adviser, and CAA agent Ish Hinson, representing Crawford, finally came to an agreement in recent days before signing on Thursday, multiple sources told Fight Freaks Unite.
If Spence and Crawford were going to fight this year it was imperative to all involved to get the fight done before the fall so as not to be overshadowed in a packed sports schedule that would include the start of the NFL and college football seasons and post-season baseball, sources involved with the fight said.
A formal announcement of the fight by PBC, TGB Promotions and Showtime will be made next week, sources said.
Listen to our podcast, which includes thoughts on Spence-Crawford finally being made.
Spence had long been on board with his deal but it was Crawford who had to come around and be satisfied with his end of an agreement that entitles the loser to a contractual right to invoke an immediate rematch with that bout having to take place by the end of the year, sources with knowledge of agreement said.
Both fighters announced the fight via their social media platforms.
“It’s on!!!! Time to reel in the big fish,” Crawford wrote, referring to Spence’s self-anointed title as “The Big Fish” of the division. “No more talking, Errol Spence Jr. Let’s get it.”
Wrote Spence: “Had some hiccups on the way but you know what time it is now champ… time to be legendary. Finally giving the fans what they want. This one a throwback fight on paper but it could be a one-sided ass whooping. One of the biggest fights of the century!”
Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), 33, a southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, a 2012 U.S. Olympian, holds the IBF, WBC and WBA titles and will make his seventh overall defense.
Former lightweight titlist and undisputed junior welterweight champion Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs), 35, of Omaha, Nebraska, who easily switches between fighting as a right-hander and a southpaw, will also be making his seventh welterweight defense.
Spence and Crawford both own wins over Kell Brook and Shawn Porter in welterweight title fights.
The winner will remain undefeated and likely be anointed by the masses as the pound-for-pound king.
Just when Spence and Crawford were close to a deal to meet late last year, Crawford walked away and took a hometown fight in which he knocked out David Avanesyan in the sixth round in a one-fight deal with upstart BLK Prime in a pay-per-view main event in December. It was Crawford’s first bout in 13 months since a 10th-round knockout of former titlist Porter.
Crawford’s contract with promoter Top Rank expired after the Porter fight and many thought his free agency would make it much easier to strike a deal with Spence, but it turned out to be anything but.
Spence has been even less active than Crawford. Since a decision over Porter to unify two belts in September 2019, Spence has fought only twice.
Three weeks after the Porter fight, Spence was under the influence when he wrecked his car and was hospitalized. He was lucky to be alive, much less able to continue his career, but he returned to the ring in December 2020 and looked sharp in a unanimous decision over former titlist Danny Garcia.
Spence was next scheduled to face the all-time great Manny Pacquiao in August 2021, but 11 days before the fight Spence was ruled out after a routine pre-fight eye exam revealed he had a detached retina.
Spence had surgery and returned after 16 months out of the ring to stop then-WBA titlist Yordenis Ugas in the 10th-round of a one-sided three-belt unification fight in April 2022. Ugas had outpointed Pacquiao and sent him into retirement after moving up from undercard to face Pacquiao after Spence’s eye problem was diagnosed.
Spence was going to return this past March for a WBC mandatory defense against former titlist Keith Thurman. The deal was agreed to and days away from being announced, but then Spence was involved in a Dec. 10 car accident caused by a 14-year-old, who took his parents’ car out for a joy ride and smashed into Spence’s vehicle.
Spence was not injured but he was banged up enough that it caused the fight with Thurman to be pushed back to this summer. But Spence and Crawford continued to speak to each other and Spence told his team to forget the Thurman fight because he was determined to face Crawford, sources said.
So, when Spence finally does return he will not be facing Thurman. It will, at long last, be Spence against Crawford in a legacy fight for both five years in the making.
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Kudos for waiting to report on this until the contracts were signed, rather than trying to scoop everyone.
Super excited this fight is actually finally happening