By Radio Rahim

Heading into 2018, the welterweight division is once again one of the most talent-rich weight classes in the sport.

The division is loaded up with names like Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Shawn Porter, Lamont Peterson, Lucas Matthysse and several others.

Another top fighter who will soon be making his welterweight debut, is former undisputed junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs).

From the moment Crawford announced his intention to move up in weight to 147-pounds, there were quick visions of a potential showdown with Spence.

In the immediate future, both boxers have other plans lined up.

Spence (22-0, 19 KOs) will return on January 20th, when he makes the first defense of the IBF welterweight title that he captured in May with a knockout of Kell Brook in Sheffield. He will defend his title against former two-division champion Lamont Peterson at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 

Crawford is positioned for a mandatory fight with WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn, likely on April 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Beyond their assignments, the contest is unlikely to happen in 2018 - as making the match becomes complex with Crawford's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, having an exclusive television deal with ESPN. Spence is aligned with Showtime and CBS.

Arum loves the idea of a Spence vs. Crawford matchup - which he believes will eventually become a huge pay-per-view encounter in the future.

Lou DiBella, who promoted several of Spence's recent fights and is also handling his defense next month, is on the same page as Arum. He believes the showdown is unlikely for the moment, but at some point it's going to become too big to avoid doing.

"I don't think anything in boxing is off the table. In the realm of probability, with Bob's deal with ESPN, and Crawford just moving to welterweight and a guy like Jeff Horn just sitting there like a sitting duck and Arum being involved in Horn's promotion - there are reasons to think that Spence-Crawford fight will not happen immediately," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.

"But I think if they both achieve dominance then the fight is inevitable. Generally dollars make sense."