Errol Spence Jr. is back in training following his eye surgery and looking powerful as he prepares for his next fight in March against a still to be determined opponent.
The unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence Jr (27-0, 21 KOs) is taking a lot of heat from boxing fans for dashing out of the Mandalay Bay last Saturday night moments after Terence Crawford knocked out Shawn Porter.
Crawford said earlier on Tuesday that he’s not interested in fighting Josh Taylor in his next fight. He wants a unification fight with Errol Spence Jr. or Yordenis Ugas next.
Spence looks motivated
The criticism that Spence is taking for not stepping up to face Crawford may be one of the seasons he’s looking so motivated now. He’s got to know that the fans feel he’s afraid of Crawford, and he’s someone with a lot of pride that isn’t going to want to be viewed as being chicken.
Some boxing fans interpreted Spence’s quick getaway as a sign that he doesn’t want any of the smoke from WBO welterweight champion Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs), who made it a point to call him out after sending Porter skittering into retirement courtesy of a 10th round knockout.
Spence said he wants a big fight for his next match, but we’ll see if he’s serious. The only two guys left at the top of the 147-lb division that you can call a big fight for Spence are Crawford and Yordenis Ugas.
Crawford vs. Porter does 190,000 PPV buys
Early estimates on Terence’s fight with former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Porter last Saturday night are that it pulled in 190,000 PPV busy on ESPN+ pay-per-view.
It’s not surprising that Crawford-Porter’s fight didn’t pull in a lot of PPV buys because both guys looked bored during the build-up to fight.
If those numbers stick, you have to view this as a failure for Crawford because those numbers are too low for him to be considered in the same light as Spence Jr.
If Crawford can’t even break 200,000 buys against a popular fighter like Porter, he doesn’t deserve to share the same ring with Spence. In that case, it would be a good idea for Crawford to take Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman up on his offer to face him next summer.
Crawford needs Thurman for his ability to sell fights with his charisma and verbal skills. Thurman has a lot more appeal than Crawford, and he might make the difference.
You can argue that the Crawford vs. Porter fight didn’t bring in a lot of PPV buys because neither guy has much magnetism. Porter is always so serious, and he’s kind of nerdy in a way. Crawford seems to shrink when being interviewed and doesn’t relax and enjoy himself the way Thurman does.
