IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr announced on Twitter on Friday that he’s returning to action in April.
Keith Thurman and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis are the two possible opponents that Spence is expected to choose from for his next fight. If Spence chooses an obscure opponent as Terence Crawford did in his recent match against David Avanesyan, he will upset many fans.
Spence has already said that he won’t be fighting Crawford next, and it’s understandable why. The sheer time needed to try and negotiate with WBO welterweight champion Crawford precludes the possibility of Spence fighting him.
He doesn’t have six to eight months to try and negotiate with Crawford, only to have him disappear without a word.
The unbeaten Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) will be coming off a year layoff after his victory over WBA champion Yordenis Ugas last April.
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) would be a good option for Spence because at least he would do the hard work of promoting the. Like Crawford, Spence isn’t good at marketing his fights, and he counts on the boxing public turning out to see him without doing much promoting.
“Crawford is probably thinking, ‘I’m getting older, and I want to get this fight out of the way,'” said Amir Khan to Fight Hub TV about Terence Crawford wanting to get the undisputed clash out with Errol Spence Jr before he gets older. “I got Terence winning that fight unanimously.
“Not by stoppage because Crawford is a tough, tricky fighter. I think he breaks the fights down so easily, Crawford. I remember the speed that I had, he was making me miss by inches, and moving back and tapping me.
“He was catching me every time with little shots and frustrating me. I thought, ‘This guy is so precise, and his timing was on point.’ After the fight, I went and joined his camp. At times, I would sit and watch him train, and he was so precise.
“He was probably the best fighter I’ve ever seen. He reminds me a little bit of Andre Ward. I used to stand and watch him train & shadowbox. The way that he would do things slow and every punch means something. I could see that in Crawford as well.
“That’s why both of them in this era of boxing are one of the best. It was amazing to share a camp with him [Crawford] to be amongst back in America. I love being in America training over there, doing all the press & media and fights over there. It was nice to do training over there.
“Crawford is a year younger than me. He’s 35, but I’m sure he doesn’t love the sport as much as he did five to ten years ago. He’s getting older as well.
“He wants to cash out now and beat the biggest name in boxing in the welterweight division, which is Spence. Once he beats him, he’s known as the best fighter. There’s no one else better in my opinion.
“At the moment, there’s only one name that’s hanging there, and that’s Spence. People don’t know who is going to win that fight. Is it Spence, or is it Crawford? It would be a massive fight.
“I’d fly out to see that fight because I’m a boxing fan, and I want to sit at ringside and enjoy the night. If it doesn’t happen, I think it’s going to be real bad.
“We need it to happen because both fighters are getting older, and people are getting frustrated and lose love for that fight and go onto another fight. That’s the fight that everybody wants to see,” said Crawford.
