Terence Crawford lists Errol Spence Jr. second on his list of opponents he most wants to fight, behind only Manny Pacquiao.
If Spence defeats Danny Garcia on December 5, he’ll retain two welterweight titles Crawford wants to add to his WBO belt. The 30-year-old Spence also is unbeaten and is commonly considered one of the top five fighters, pound-for-pound, in boxing.
Even after Spence sustained injuries in a car accident 13 months ago, he remains THE welterweight fans want Crawford to fight.
All those factors notwithstanding, Crawford won’t feel unfulfilled if he and Spence don’t eventually meet in the ring. Crawford wants that fight, mind you, yet he doesn’t think his overall legacy would be weaker if he retires without having opposed Spence.
Crawford was asked during a virtual conference call Monday whether he feels as though the Spence fight might “fall by the wayside” if it doesn’t finally happen sometime in 2021.
“Yeah, it might,” Crawford said. “It might. You know, but like I said, I never really felt like I really needed Errol Spence for my legacy or my career. You know, I’ve accomplished so much in the sport of boxing that, you know, I really didn’t need him. You know, yes, I needed him for my legacy at the welterweight division and becoming a two-time, undisputed champion at two different weight classes. But if that fight don’t happen, I don’t feel like, you know, it’ll hurt my legacy. It just hurts the legacy of [me in] the welterweight division.”
While hopeful he and Spence can share a ring next year, Crawford will settle Saturday night for facing an opponent Spence knocked out.
The 33-year-old Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, is set to make his fourth defense of the WBO welterweight title against Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs), of Sheffield, England. ESPN (10 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. PST) and Premier Sports 1 (12:30 a.m. GMT) will air Crawford-Brook in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively, from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas
Spence, the IBF and WBC welterweight champ, is moving toward the end of training camp for the Garcia fight, which will take place three weeks from Saturday. The 12-round bout between Spence (26-0, 21 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, and Philadelphia’s Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) will headline a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
