By Brian Webber: Welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford have agreed to a lucrative, eight-figure two-fight deal to meet for the first fight on July 29 on Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vega, Nevada. The second fight will take place before the end of 2023, at which point the two fighters will move up to 154.
ESPN is reporting the news of the fight between IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) and WBO belt holder (39-0, 30 KOs) agreeing to the deal. It’s taken two years and years to finally agree to fight, but better late than never.
There’s a strong possibility that if the two fights are split with each fighter winning one fight a piece, we could see an immediate trilogy match, provided the sanctioning bodies allow them to battle for a third consecutive time without getting a contender a chance.
Spence hasn’t fought in 13 months, which means that the contenders for his IBF, WBA & WBC belts will be prevented from getting a crack at his three belts for two solid years. If there’s a trilogy match between Spence and Crawford, it would be an even longer wait.
The winner of the July 29th Spence-Crawford fight will be the undisputed welterweight champion and will be viewed as the #1 fighter in the division.
“Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. have agreed to a deal to fight for the undisputed welterweight championship on July 29 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena,” said Mike Coppinger of ESPN.
“Crawford and Spence will each earn eight figures guaranteed for the Showtime PPV fight, and there’s a bidirectional rematch clause that the loser can trigger within 30 days after the fight.
“It’s a two-fight deal for Crawford with PBC, sources said. After the probable return bout between Crawford and Spence, which must take place before the end of 2023, both boxers are expected to move up to 154 pounds.”
Of course, with both guys getting long in the tooth and rarely fighting any longer, you can argue that the winner of their two fights might not be the best in the division. They would only be proving who the best is between them.
To prove who the true #1 fighter at 147, the Spence vs. Crawford winner of their two fights would need to face the young lion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because many fans see him as the best right now.
The contenders at 147 will be pleased about the Spence-Crawford fight getting made because these two have gotten wealthy and only fight once a year. They’ve sat on their titles, fighting annually, which has effectively locked out the contenders from getting title shots.
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