By Keith Idec
Errol Spence Jr. doesn’t just want to be viewed as boxing’s best welterweight.
The unbeaten IBF 147-pound champion is determined to become the best boxer in the entire sport. Spence considers that title up for grabs now that two undefeated stars – former light heavyweight and super middleweight champ Andre Ward and former five-division champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. – are retired.
Spence expressed his ambitions during an interview with Sky Sports, which was posted to the UK cable channel’s website Monday.
“Everyone wants to be that No. 1 guy in boxing, not just in their weight division, or even their country,” Spence said. “With Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward gone, that just leaves it wide open to see who is the best fighter in the world.
“I think that’s what we’re all fighting for. That’s what Terence Crawford, that’s what [Vasyl] Lomachenko are fighting for. And that is what I am after. Expect a damn good performance from me [January 20].”
Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), a strong southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, is scheduled to make the first defense of his IBF welterweight title January 20. The 27-year-old Spence, who won the title by knocking out Kell Brook (36-2, 25 KOs) in the 11th round May 27, will meet Washington, D.C.’s Lamont Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs) in a main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Showtime).
The 2012 Olympian is not ranked among the top 10 on BoxingScene.com’s pound-for-pound list. BoxingScene.com ranks former undisputed 140-pound champion Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) at No. 1 on its list.
ESPN.com, which ranks WBO super featherweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) at No. 1 on its list, rates Spence sixth among its top 10. The Ring magazine, which ranks IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) at No. 1 on its list, has placed Spence at No. 8.
Crawford is ranked No. 3 by ESPN.com and No. 2 by The Ring.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
