A fight to decide the first undisputed welterweight champion in over a decade is finally within reach.
BoxingScene.com has learned that talks between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford resulted in both fighters agreeing to terms in principle. The matter is now in the hands of their respective legal teams to fasten the final details, with the hope that both parties will sign an agreement in the coming days.
Once complete, the welterweight superfight is expected to headline a Pay-Per-View event on Nov. 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, according to multiple parties familiar with such talk.
The matchup, date and venue have been speculation and closed-door negotiations for the past few months. The most significant progress was made this week, when representatives for Crawford (38-0, 29KOs), a promotional free agent, agreed to the latest round of terms put forth by the legal team representing Spence (28-0, 22KOs) and Premier Boxing. Champions (PBC), including its guaranteed purse and revenue split.
ESPN.com boxing expert Mike Coppinger was the first to report on the latest development.
PBC representatives declined to comment. Several representatives said they were unaware of any such progress, although at least three parties familiar with the situation were confident the event would move forward.
It has not yet been confirmed if Showtime or Fox Sports will carry the PPV event. Showtime is the favorite and the expected platform, although BoxingScene.com has learned that Fox Sports, to which PBC is contractually obligated to offer a certain number of PPV events per year, is prepared to bid aggressively to secure the event.
Spence will defend his unified WBA/WBC/IBF “Super” titles, while Crawford risks his WBO title in a bid to become a lineal three-division champion. The switch-hitting pound-for-pound entrant from Omaha, Nebraska, claimed true championship honors at lightweight and undisputed championship status at junior welterweight before moving up to the 147-pound division in 2018.
Crawford’s WBO title reign began with a ninth-round knockout of the undefeated Jeff Horn in June 2018. He made five successful defenses, the last of which came in a tenth-round knockout against the former twice. welterweight champion Shawn Porter on November 20 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The fight was the last under contract with Top Rank, having filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Las Vegas-based promotion company citing breach of contract, including a claim that they reneged on their promise to deliver a Spence fight.
Spence has held the IBF welterweight title since an 11th-round knockout of Kell Brook in May 2017 in Sheffield, England. The 32-year-old southpaw from Desoto, Texas has defended the belt six times, including separate victories to claim the WBC and WBA “Super” titles. Spence won the WBC belt after defeating Porter by division in their September 2019 unification fight, defending the green belt twice. His last win came in April, when Spence knocked out Yordenis Ugas in the 10th round of their Showtime PPV main event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A fight between Spence and Crawford has been called throughout the industry since Crawford’s arrival at welterweight. The two met backstage at the end of an ESPN event in November 2018 in Oklahoma City. Spence joined fellow Dallas native Maurice Hooker, who led the card in a seventh-round knockout of then-undefeated local contender Alex Saucedo to defend his WBO junior welterweight title. The event is best remembered for the spirited verbal exchange between Spence and Crawford, who vowed to meet one day when the time was right.
That time seems to be now, or at least in the next two months.
According to ESPN.com, the finalized deal will include a bilateral rematch clause for the loser to work out. The clause is similar to the one that was included in the February 2020 Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch. Fury won via seventh-round one-sided stoppage to reclaim the WBC and vacant lineal heavyweight championship, which was followed. immediately by Wilder enforcing the contract clause for a third fight.
The Fury-Wilder trilogy bout was postponed twice due to injury and the pandemic, and then the issue of an arbitration hearing ruled in Wilder’s favor. Fury won via eleventh-round knockout on October 9 in what was universally hailed as the 2021 Fight of the Year.
A rematch clause in Spence-Crawford could create a mess after the nearly 17-year wait to crown the next undisputed welterweight champion and the first in the four-belt era.
Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9KOs) owns the WBA ‘World’ (Regular) welterweight title and has twice so far agreed to step aside to allow WBA ‘Super’ champion Ugas and now Spence, engage in unification bouts. It would be too much to ask for him to retire a third time, even as he was awarded a slot on the Spence-Ugas card, defeating Radzhab Butaev to win his secondary title, and he is expected to land on the Spence-Ugas card. Crawford.
Another deal could be struck, as Stanionis’ entire career has been showcased on PBC-branded shows through the company’s long-standing relationship with Richard Schaefer, Stanionis’s promoter.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (29-0, 27KOs) is the IBF mandatory challenger, claiming the number one contender spot following a second-round knockout of Custio Clayton on May 14 in Carson, California. The 25-year-old Philadelphia-bred welterweight has appeared on PBC shows in each of his last five starts, but is not signed directly with the company. The date of his next fight is yet to be announced, although it is expected to be revealed once Spence-Crawford becomes official, as the status of the championship fight has left several others in a holding pattern.
Vergil Ortiz is the number one contender with both the WBA and WBO, and is the mandatory challenger for Stanionis’ version of the WBA title. As BoxingScene.com reported earlier Thursday, Ortiz has petitioned the WBA to enforce mandatory status on him in hopes of facing Stanionis next and before the end of the year.
That said, any concerns about whether the belts will stick together after the Spence-Crawford result is less important, or significant, than the fight itself eventually making its way onto the schedule. For the first time in four years, that day is expected to come very soon.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
