With the retirement last year of Andre Ward and the apparent departure of Floyd Mayweather (apparent because with Floyd we never know and there is seemingly always talk of him having “one more fight”) most fans have placed either Vasyl Lomachenko or Terence Crawford in the pole position when it comes to which fighter has the best shot at taking over as THE best in the game.
Lomachenko seems to be just about unbeatable right now (although, yes, he has actually lost a fight – his second pro fight, to Orlando Salido) but so does Crawford; who does sport a spotless record. But what about superbly gifted welterweight Errol Spence? Spence too is unbeaten, and he is ambitious – massively so.
Speaking with Sky Sports recently, “The Truth” said that he, Lomachenko and Crawford are “all fighting to see who is the best in the world.”
“Everybody wants to be that number-one guy in boxing,” Spence said. “Not just in their weight division, or even their country. With Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward gone, that just leaves it wide open to see who is the best fighter in the world. I think that’s what we are all fighting for, that’s what Terence Crawford, that’s what Lomachenko are fighting for, and that’s what I am after.”
As fans know, Spence’s next fight, his very first IBF title defence, comes on the 20th of this month, against the seasoned and tough Lamont Peterson. Should Spence get through this one okay, and then land, and win, the big, big fights against the likes of Keith Thurman and the Crawford-Jeff Horn winner, and then go on to remain unbeaten, chances are great the Texan southpaw will be looked at as the number-one man in the sport.
And what a great fight it really could be, between Spence against Crawford. What a shame the superb Lomachenko is not able to fight in the welterweight division. If he was, we would perhaps find out pretty soon who really is number-one. Right now, is it Crawford? Is it Spence? Is it Lomachenko? Is it Canelo Alavarez? Is it Genandy Golovkin?
The competition to take over that top spot is fierce, that much is clear.