“When I stop him y’all are going to say he’s too small,” Errol Spence Jr. stated during an interview with EsNews that took place in November 2018. Terence Crawford was standing right next to Spence when Spence made the comment. Crawford gave an immediate response by stating, “When I stop him y’all are going to say he’s too weak, and he stayed at 147 too long.”
The verbal interaction took place in Oklahoma City after the Maurice Hooker vs Alex Saucedo match. After the fight, Spence was backstage conducting an interview with EsNews when he was abruptly interrupted by the presence of his rival Terence Crawford. The two prize fighters were talking trash to each other in reference to which boxer hits the hardest, who would win a fight between the two, and which boxer is the better basketball player. The video of the two stars trading words was a welcomed sight to boxing fans.
The footage of Spence and Crawford participating in competitive trash-talking built up an excitement, and anticipation for a future boxing match between the two undefeated champions. It has been nearly four years since the backstage video was originally filmed, and fight fans are still waiting for this match to be made.
Since the filming of his 2018 backstage meeting with Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford has posted impressive knockout victories versus Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Kell Brook, and Shawn Porter. After each Crawford victory, the obvious question to ask was, “When are we going to see a match between you and Errol Spence Jr.?” In response to the question, Crawford consistently verbalized his interest in facing Spence, but unfortunately for multiple reasons, the fight was never made.
Months after participating in the face-off with his boxing counterpart, Errol Spence Jr. stepped into the ring and captured a unanimous decision victory against Mikey Garcia. His next contest was a more competitive fight as he earned a split decision win versus Shawn Porter.
A future match against Crawford and his entire boxing career was put in jeopardy in October 2019 when Errol Spence Jr. left a Dallas nightclub. As he was driving while intoxicated, Spence was speeding down the road, and he proceeded to flip his white Ferrari. Spence was not wearing a seat belt, and as a result, he was ejected from his vehicle. Amazingly the champion boxer didn’t suffer any broken bones, but he did endure a bloodied eye, scars across his face, and dental damage.
Approximately one year later Errol Spence Jr. returned to the squared circle and successfully defended his WBC and IBF welterweight titles by earning a unanimous decision victory against Danny Garcia. It appeared Spence was back on track, but unfortunately he faced another career-threatening obstacle in August 2021 when he suffered a retinal detachment/break in his left eye during a sparring session. Spence was able to make a full recovery as he made his return to the ring in April 2022. He added to his strap collection by beating Yordenis Ugas by way of a unanimous decision victory, as he captured the WBA welterweight title. During his post fight interview after the Ugas fight, when asked what’s next, Spence responded by stating “Everybody knows who I want next. I want Terence Crawford next.”
After waiting for multiple years, now may be the perfect time for a fight to be made between Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs). The politics of boxing hindered this fight due to the fact that both fighters were affiliated with different promoters and different networks. Spence is connected to Al Haymon’s PBC banner, and the Showtime network, while Crawford was a part of Top Rank Boxing and the ESPN network. Crawford is currently a free agent as his contract with Top Rank expired in November 2021. Without the clash of promotional entities, fight fans are wondering, what is the hold up?
When a media report was published suggesting the Spence-Crawford fight would take place in Las Vegas on October 29, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was quick to say the announcement was false. “Not true. When it’s true y’all will hear it from me first,” Mayweather said during an interview with Fight hype. This admission by Mayweather leads to speculation in regards to the depth of his involvement. Is Mayweather behind closed doors attempting to iron out a promotional deal with the WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford? In the past, Mayweather has verbalized interest in signing Crawford, and maybe now he sees the perfect opportunity to sign one of the best in the business.
A Spence-Crawford matchup is a Super fight. It is currently the biggest fight that can be made in boxing. The potential numbers, his past interest in Crawford, and his own comments enhance the speculation of Floyd Mayweather Jr. becoming part of this equation. Spence-Crawford is a box office attraction that translates into it being a big money fight, and when there is a road to currency, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather always seems to find a way to walk down that particular path.