Errol Spence Could Fight Terence Crawford On February 4, Or…
Sadly for boxing fans, the endless saga between Errol “The Truth” Spence (28-0, 22 KO’s) and Terrence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KO’s) continues to wage on. As 3Kings Boxing reported, their proposed November date has been tossed into the trash heap. Let WBA Super, IBF and WBC welterweight champion Spence tell it, this is exclusively due to a foot-dragging WBO champ Crawford. Shortly after that date was discarded, a new one replaced it. According to Fight Freaks Unite, the two will now potentially clash on February 4.
Sure, it’d be nice to put real, whole-hearted faith in this new February date. At the same time however, there has been way too much lip service without meaningful results to put blind faith into it. Going a step further, it might be time to start accepting that this match will not happen, whatsoever. Spence has already stated that making the weight is not easy and his patience is running thin. Therefore, it’s not the wildest notion to see him move on to the next challenge
I CHOOSE DOOR #…
If not Crawford though, then who? Attached to his three-belts are three very compelling competitors. First there is #1 (IBF) challenger Jaron “Boots” Ennis (29-0, 27 KO’s) who has been calling out everyone that he can. Despite his lack of major names on his ledger, Boots has the respect of countless seasoned professionals. So much so that there is an overwhelming opinion he’ll be the next kingpin of the welterweight division. With this being said, Ennis very well may be more trouble than he is worth for Spence.
Another potential adversary is #1 (WBA) ranked fighter Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KO’s). Like Boots, Ortiz is another boxer who has received high praise throughout the industry. Even better, Junior totes a 100% knockout ratio which certainly would make for a great promotional tool to build the fight. On the flip-side, Ortiz is pushed by Golden Boy Promotions, who traditionally don’t work the best with Spence’s PBC backers.
Last, but certainly not least, is Keith “One Time’ Thurman (30-1, 22 KO’s), who holds down the #1 (WBC) ranking. Thurman is the most veteran of the three back-up fighters listed in this articles. Also, he once was the lord of the 147-pound division. Yet, during his season on top, he routinely told Spence that he would not face him. Now that their roles have reversed, The Truth seems to openly relish in denying a fight for One Time. This is unfortunate because Thurman is a good fighter with a great name and their already-established history would make for a terrific pre-fight build-up. And, like Boots, this is an inside fight, promotionally speaking.
PLEASE PULL THE TRIGGER!
In the end, we all still want to see Spence test his wits and brawn against Crawford. If that doesn’t happen though, let’s cross our fingers and hope that one of the three men mentioned get their shot at the unified champion. No matter how it plays out though, 3Kings Boxing will be here to report the news!
By: Bakari Simpson
