By Rob Smith
OCTOBER 22, 2022
Source: Boxing News 24
Photo Source: Amanda Westcott
Errol Spence Jr isn’t happy about Terence Crawford backing out of negotiations for a fight against him to face David Avanesyan in a tune-up on December 10th on BLK pay-per-view in Omaha, Nebraska.
Crawford is supposed to be getting ten million+ dollars to fight Avanesyan, according to ESPN, but that hasn’t been confirmed. It wouldn’t be surprising if Crawford is getting considerably less.
IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champion Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) suspects that the reason WBO 147-lb champion Crawford has been “stalling” the negotiations so that he could negotiate the fight with Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs).
Spence says he’s not sure who he’ll fight next. He might move up to 154 because it’s become increasingly harder for him to make weight over the years. Unlike Crawford, Spence started his career at 147 ten years ago in 2012, and he’s been at the same weight all this time. Spence probably should have moved up to 154 several years ago because he’d likely be a world champion by now.
The way things are now, Spence will need to work his way to a title shot, and it may be tricky because the undisputed 154 champion Jermell Charlo is his friend.
“I don’t know who he [Avanesyan] is. I’ve done everything that I said I was going to do, and I’ll fight him next, and we’ll see who is holding the fight up,” said Spence to the Dallasnews.
It’s interesting that Spence still wants to fight Crawford despite him pulling out of their fight without warning. After that move, how on earth does Spence still trust him? If Crawford did it once, he could make that move a second and third time, making Spence look silly & gullible.
It might be better off for Spence to cut his losses, forget about Crawford permanently and move up to 154 to snatch the four titles from his good friend Jermell Charlo. If the friendship gets in the way of their fighting, Jermell can always vacate a throwaway belt, and Spence can fight for that strap.
“Everybody sees now who is holding the fight up,” said Spence. “He has been. This, I guess, was in his back pocket. He has been stalling just for this. Why he wait this long to have a tune-up fight?
“I got to talk to my manager. I already told them that I’m at this weight [welterweight] for too long. I might be moving up to junior middleweight,” said Spence.
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