Just who is the A-side when it comes to a match-up between rival, undefeated welterweight champions Terence Crawford and Errol Spence? We all want to see this fight, and maybe, in an ideal world, we will indeed see it some time next year. But it seems the two fighters, both of them pound-for-pound stars, disagree on who should get the lion’s share of the fight purse.
Spence yesterday told Mike Coppinger how he “should definitely get the bigger share, he is a great fighter but I feel like 60/40 is the right price.”
Meanwhile, Crawford has said “Spence needs me more than I need him,” with Crawford adding how his own legacy will not suffer if he doesn’t fight Spence.
But who’s right and who’s wrong here? Isn’t this 147 pound unification showdown a genuine 50/50 fight, and as such the purse should be split right down the middle? It is to be hoped a deal can and will be made, as this fight is too important not to take place. Who brings the most to the table – Spence, the WBC and IBF champion, or Crawford, the WBO welterweight champion but also a fighter who has ruled as champion at two other weights?
Which fighter has the better resume? Crawford is 37-0(28) and he is currently 5-0 at welterweight. Spence is 26-0(21) and he is a career-long 147 pounder.
Back in the day, great fighters Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, each a star with a title and a legit claim to being the best welterweight in the world, managed to make a deal (in fact they made one quite quickly and easily). Why can’t Spence and Crawford come to an agreement and give us fans what we want?
Hopefully they will do so. But will Crawford agree to that 60/40 split in favor of Spence? If not, a compromise will have to be reached. Again, the sport of boxing cannot lose this fight. Nor do we want to see it happen when both guys are past their prime.
Some time, any time next year: Spence Vs. Crawford must go down.