Neither Errol Spence nor Terence Crawford have fought since their mega-fight last in Las Vegas last July and now it looks almost certain that they will not be triggering the rematch clause in their contract. Given that they will not be facing off as planned in advance of Crawford’s demolition of Spence, both fighters will be searching for an opponent, and it looks like they have the same man in their sights.
Tim Tszyu faces off against Sebastian Fundora Saturday in Vegas, in a fight that has been upgraded to a unification, with the WBC world title being added to Tszyu’s WBO belt which was already on the line. The buzz around Tszyu in particular, and the allure of two world titles being in the line in a future bout against Saturday’s winner has caught the attention of both Spence and Crawford. It now looks all but assured that both men will move up one division to the super-welterweight category and both have publicly announced their interest in fighting whoever prevails between Tszyu and Fundora.
It was Crawford that made the first play at lining up the winner when he declared that he would be taking up the entitlement he earned with the WBO as a long-term welterweight champion and would go on to immediately trigger his mandatory challenger status. Tszyu is the current champion. Spence emerged from relative wilderness to declare online this week that he would be attending Saturday’s fight in Las Vegas and that he wants the winner. Crawford will argue that he’s the WBO mandatory challenger, so he’s entitled to the first shot at the winner, but Spence’s retort will be that despite his loss to Crawford, he’s still a bigger box-office draw in the sport and will provide more money as an opponent. If the champion opts for Spence the heftier pay cheque will probably come at the cost of the WBO title being on the line. Despite not looking likely to fight again any time soon, Errol Spence and Terence Crawford are locked in a battle once again.