Errol Spence Tasked with WBC Mandatory Challenger Keith Thurman!
During the recent WBC convention, a fight between Keith “One Time” Thurman (30-1, 22 KO’s) and unified welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr (28-0, 22 KO’s) has been ordered. Spence had been in serious negotiations with WBO 147-pound champion Terence Crawford when Crawford abruptly withdrew from negotiations. Not only did he abandon talks, he simultaneously announced a match with David Avaneyesan.
Once the fight was squelched, and the seeing that Spence had no ready-made alternative, the WBC hopped in with their recent mandate. Without question, this is great news for Thurman, ranked #1 (WBC), #3 (WBO), #3 (WBA) and #6 (IBF), who has been chasing a duel with Spence for some time now. Ever since losing his WBA belt to boxing phenomenon Manny Pacquiao, One Time has been itching for a title shot. Now he has it.
“Errol Spence, who very unfortunately, after many months of high expectations from the boxing world, the fight against Crawford did not materialize. The WBC has all the flexibility and the WBC made every effort for that fight to happen. It did not, so we must now proceed to the mandatory title defense which is Keith Thurman. The WBC hereby orders Thurman versus Errol Spence.”
Mauricio Sulaiman, WBC president
I’M STILL HERE!!
At the same time, this order will be a bitter pill for The Truth to swallow. This is because Spence had previously vowed never to share the ring with the one-time champion. His reticence stems from the days when he was a highly-touted prospect on the rise. Despite having great buzz and obvious talent, Thurman repeatedly said that Spence had to do more.
When the tables turned and a beltless Thurman challenged welterweight champion Spence, The Truth promised to repay him with consistent fight denials. There is the slim chance that Spence either drops the WBC title or moves to super welterweight. Yet, The Truth has reiterated his desire to be undisputed at welterweight with ferocious reliability. Therefore its hard to believe he would go to such drastic measures just to avoid a guy he doesn’t like personally. So, for the time being, we will have to wait and see just how the unified champion plays his hand!
By: Bakari Simpson
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