A fight to decide the first undisputed welterweight champion in more than a decade is finally within reach.
krikya360.com has learned that talks between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford have resulted in both fighters agreeing to terms in principle. The matter is now in the hands of their respective legal teams to button up final details, with hopes that a deal will be signed by both parties in the coming days.
Once finalized, the welterweight superfight is expected to headline a November 19 Pay-Per-View event from MGM Grand Garden Arena, according to multiple parties familiar with such talks.
The matchup, date and location have been speculated and in behind-closed-doors negotiations for the past several months. The most significant progress was made this week, when representatives for Crawford (38-0, 29KOs)—a promotional free agent—agreed to the last round of terms presented by the legal team representing Spence (28-0, 22KOs) and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), including his guaranteed purse and revenue split.
ESPN.com boxing insider Mike Coppinger was the first to report the latest development.
Representatives from PBC declined comment. Several representatives claimed to lack awareness of any such progress made, though at least three parties familiar with the situation were confident of the event moving forward.
It has yet to be confirmed whether Showtime or Fox Sports will carry the PPV event. Showtime is the frontrunner and the expected platform, though krikya360.com has learned that Fox Sports—to which PBC is contractually bound to deliver a certain number of PPV events per year—is prepared to aggressively bid to secure the event.
Spence will defend his unified WBA “Super”/WBC/IBF titles, while Crawford puts his WBO title on the line in a bid to become a three-division lineal champion. The switch-hitting pound-for-pound entrant from Omaha, Nebraska claimed true championship honors at lightweight and undisputed championship status at junior welterweight before moving up to the 147-pound division in 2018.
Crawford’s WBO title reign began with a ninth-round knockout of unbeaten Jeff Horn in June 2018. He has made five successful defenses, the last of which came in a tenth-round knockout of former two-time welterweight titlist Shawn Porter last November 20 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was his last under contract with Top Rank, having since filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Vegas-based promotional company citing breach of contract, including a claim that they failed to make good on a promise to deliver a Spence fight.
Spence has held the IBF welterweight title since his May 2017 eleventh-round knockout of Kell Brook on the road in Sheffield, England. The 32-year-old southpaw from Desoto, Texas has defended the belt six times, including separate wins to claim the WBC and WBA “Super” titles. Spence won the WBC belt after defeating Porter via split in their September 2019 unification bout, defending the green belt twice. His latest win came in April, when Spence stopped Yordenis Ugas in the tenth-round of their Showtime PPV headliner from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A Spence-Crawford fight has been called for industry-wide ever since Crawford’s welterweight arrival. The two met backstage at the end of a November 2018 ESPN event in Oklahoma City. Spence accompanied fellow Dallas native Maurice Hooker, who headlined the card in a seventh-round stoppage of then-unbeaten, locally based contender Alex Saucedo to defend his WBO junior welterweight title. The event became best remembered for the spirited verbal exchange between Spence and Crawford, who vowed to one day meet when the time was right.
That time appears to be now, or at least in the next two months.
According to ESPN.com, the finalized deal will include a bilateral rematch clause for the loser to exercise. The clause is similar as to what was included in the February 2020 Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch. Fury won via one-sided, seventh-round stoppage to claim the WBC and vacant lineal heavyweight championship, which was immediately followed by Wilder enforcing the contract clause for a third fight.
The Fury-Wilder trilogy bout was twice postponed due to injury and the pandemic, and then the subject of an arbitration hearing ruled in favor of Wilder. Fury went on to win by eleventh-round knockout last October 9 in what was universally hailed as the 2021 Fight of the Year.
A rematch clause in Spence-Crawford could create a mess after the near 17-year wait to crown the next undisputed welterweight champion and the first in the four-belt era.
Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9KOs) holds the WBA ‘World’ (Regular) welterweight title and so far has twice agreed to step aside in allowing for the WBA ‘Super’ titlist—Ugas and now Spence—to enter unification bouts. It would be asking a lot to have him stand down for a third time, even as he was granted an undercard slot on Spence-Ugas—defeating Radzhab Butaev to win his secondary title—and is expected to land on the Spence-Crawford undercard.
Another agreement could be reached, as Stanionis’ entire career has been showcased on PBC-branded shows through the company’s years-long relationship with Richard Schaefer, Stanionis’ promoter.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (29-0, 27KOs) is the IBF mandatory challenger, claiming the number-one contender slot following a second-round knockout of Custio Clayton on May 14 in Carson, California. The 25-year-old Philadelphia-bred welterweight has appeared on PBC shows in each of his last five starts but is not directly signed with the company. His next fight date is not yet announced, though it is expected to be revealed once Spence-Crawford is made official as the championship bout’s status has left several others in a holding pattern.
Vergil Ortiz is the number-one contender both with the WBA and WBO, and is the mandatory challenger for Stanionis’ version of the WBA title. As reported by krikya360.com earlier Thursday, Ortiz has petitioned the WBA to have his mandatory status enforced with hopes of facing Stanionis next and before year’s end.
That said, any concerns over whether the belts will remain together following the outcome of Spence-Crawford is less important—or significant—than the fight itself finally making its way to the schedule. For the first time in four years, that day is expected to arrive very soon.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox