By Keith Idec
Mere minutes removed from winning his first world title, Errol Spence Jr. turned his attention toward adding two more championships to his resume.
Spence called out unbeaten WBA/WBC welterweight champion Keith Thurman immediately after stopping Kell Brook in the 11th round Saturday night to win the IBF welterweight championship in Sheffield, England.
“I’ve been calling Keith Thurman out for a long time,” Spence told Showtime’s Jim Gray in the ring. “Now it’s time. You say I have to prove myself and I haven’t fought anybody. Well, I just beat the so-called biggest welterweight in the division – Kell Brook. So now, Keith Thurman, you know, come out. It’s time to fight.”
A Thurman-Spence showdown would match the two best welterweights in boxing against one another, but the fight doesn’t figure to take place any time soon.
Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC), of Clearwater, Florida, had surgery last month to remove bone spurs from his right elbow and announced last week that he’ll need at least six months off to recover. The 28-year-old Thurman might not want to oppose Spence in his first fight back, which could push back their welterweight title unification fight to sometime in 2018.
Spence can fight whoever he wants in his next bout, though, because he doesn’t have a mandatory title defense due. The 27-year-old Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, was the mandatory challenger for Sheffield’s Brook (36-2, 25 KOs), who declined to continue in the 11th round because he was having difficulty seeing out his left eye.
Spence mentioned Manny Pacquiao as a potential opponent for his next fight, too, but that championship unification fight seems even less likely to materialize than Thurman-Spence. The 38-year-old Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) is scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against Australia’s Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs) on July 2 in Brisbane.
Promoter Bob Arum has said he wants Pacquiao to return in November if he defeats Horn. Nevertheless, the bigger, stronger, younger Spence seems like an opponent Arum would keep away from Pacquiao at this late stage of the Filipino superstar’s career.
“The goal is to unify the titles,” Spence told Sky Sports Box Office following Saturday’s fight. “I wanna fight Keith Thurman next, you know, Manny Pacquiao next. I wanna fight the champions next, unify the division and become the undisputed champion of the world.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.