With each passing day and public comment, the possibility of seeing the Errol Spence Jr vs. Terence Crawford welterweight superfight appears to get closer and closer to pipedream status.
In the most recent development of this interminable soap opera, Spence recently reiterated his belief that he deserves a bigger share of the promotional purse, in the event that he and Crawford should ever meet in the ring.
“I’m the big dog at the welterweight division” Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) told DAZN during the Canelo Alvarez-Callum Smith broadcast last Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. “He [Crawford] gotta take a backseat and take that 60-40 [purse split] or 70-30, whatever we give him.”
That comment elicited a resigned response from Crawford.
“And they said it was me [shrugging emoji] I rest my case now, on to the next,” Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) tweeted. “That chapter is now close[d].”
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Spence also expressed his interest in a fight with Alvarez at 160 pounds, saying that “I can definitely go up to 160 and fight easy […] I think it would be an all out war. We could have it at AT&T Stadium in front of 100,000 plus.”
Reached for comment, Brian McIntyre, the head trainer and manager of Crawford, said Spence’s recents comments are a clear sign that he has no intention of facing Crawford anytime soon.
“Yep, he [Spence] [trying] to find a way out the fight with Terence,” McIntyre told Boxingscene.com. “And by calling out Canelo he looking to cash out with the help of Mexican fans by saying we can fight at the Cowboy Stadium.”
McIntyre added that he “thinks the [fight] can happen, but not solely on his [Spence’s] terms.
Earlier this month, Spence dominated Danny Garcia en route to a unanimous decision win. It was a sterling win, given the caliber of opponent and the fact that it was his first fight since his calamitous car accident last October. For his part, Crawford took on former welterweight titleholder Kell Brook in November, stopping the Brit in the fourth round. Both Spence and Crawford continue to whittle down the list of meaningful opponents that they can face, but they do not seem any closer to facing each other.
Crawford has other problems on his plate. His relationship with his longtime promoter Bob Arum seemingly went up in flames last month, after a letter from Crawford’s lawyer to Arum indicating his discontent was leaked to the press and which caused Arum to lash out on his client in public. Arum accused McIntyre of leaking the document and told BoxingScene in a previous interview that he had “washed my hands of [Crawford].” Crawford’s contract is reportedly up next October.
McIntyre says his partnership is still on the mend with Arum.
“The relationship with Bob is still up in the air,” McIntyre said. “I been trying to have a sit down with him. But still haven’t got a date.”
But the priorities for Team Crawford remain the same. McIntyre wants either “Manny Pacquiao or Spence” for Crawford’s next fight, whenever that is, but with a caveat: the purse for either one would have to be split straight down the middle.
“50/50,” said McIntyre.
Until then, the merry-go-round goes on.
