Spence willing to fight without fans, Crawford not!
As boxing inches closer and closer to its return, it’ll do so in a non-traditional way. As the world continues to deal with the destructive disease known as COVID-19, businesses have begun to either open back up or are currently preparing to resume day-to-day operations.
With boxing set to return on June 9, it will do so without any fans in attendance. This is a way to minimize the spread of the deadly disease which has claimed many lives since its arrival. Everyone who watches sports knows fans move the needle. Without them dishing out big bucks on tickets, merchandise or spreading the word throughout social media, not many athletes, in this case fighters, would get the exposure they get now. Sure, there are stars that just have that aura about themselves, however most don’t. So when it comes to fighting with or without fans in attendance, two of boxing’s best are on the total opposite ends of this topic.
Showtime’s Brian Custer revealed to us what both unified welterweight champion Errol Spence (26-0, 21KOs) and WBO champion Terence Crawford (36-0, 27KOs) told him in their respective interviews on his The Last Stand podcast.
TERENCE CRAWFORD’S PERSPECTIVE!
“Bud Crawford said ‘listen, it’ll be about a year if I have to. I’ll sit out a year, but I’ll wait until we’re allowed to have fans if they’re going to cut my paycheck down’. He felt like he had spent years taking less money to build up his brand, build up where he is. So why should he be penalized now? He felt like if he has to sit out a year, he’ll sit out a year, but he’s going to be paid his worth when he steps back into the ring, even if that means not fighting this year.”
ERROL SPENCE FEELS DIFFERENT!
“Errol is different, he wants to fight this year. He’s heard a lot of chatter, he wants to really show people that he’s back, that he’s healthy and he’s the unified champ. So he had a different approach to it, but I think it still may be a little bit different for him because even if it is Danny Garcia that is his fight when he comes back, it’ll still be a pay-per-view fight. So he’s still going to make good money.”
Obviously, both men have their reasons. Crawford has had the long road towards making what he makes per fight today. While he fights on ESPN, the majority of his fights are televised on ESPN or ESPN+. Compare that to Spence, who’ll no doubt be fighting in his third consecutive pay-per-view against Danny Garcia (36-2, 21KOs). He has the earning potential of more than Crawford, even without a live gate due to pay-per-views bought.
Needless to say, nothing is a guarantee. Even with a potential reduced pay-per-view price for Spence V Garcia, many people have been affected by the shutdown, either losing their jobs or being temporarily laid off. Only time will tell if fans will be willing to pay even a reduced price.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
