WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 38-0 (29) believes he doesn’t need to face WBC, WBA and IBF 147-pound champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-0 (22) to secure his legacy.
Crawford and Spence were in negotiations to face each other either later this year or early in 2023 but those talks fell apart last month. The 35-year-old southpaw Crawford will now face former European welterweight champion David Avanesyan 29-3-1 (17), who is on a six fight knockout streak, at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska on December 10.
For many fans it’s a let down from the potential Crawford-Spence clash, but Crawford has shrugged off the criticism.
“Well, I think [the Spence fight] is a great fight for both our legacies and for boxing as a whole,” Crawford told Max On Boxing. “But at the same time, I think a lot of people are reaching when they say it’s gonna damage my legacy.
“I’m a three-weight world champion, I’m a former undisputed world champion. I have accomplished a lot in boxing, so I really don’t think it’ll damage my legacy.
“It’ll just go down as one of the biggest fights that never happened.”
If Crawford were to face and defeat Spence, he would become the first two-weight undisputed champion in the four belt era.
“By no means am I not saying that it’s not important to get that fight,” Crawford said. “I’ve been saying for years, that’s the fight that I want. That’s the fight that I been trying to secure. That’s the fight that fans want to see. But at some point, all you could do is so much.
“I been doing all that I can to try to get that fight and I’m still the one to be blamed for not making the fight happen. So I’m gonna continue to try to get that fight done and sealed so that everybody can see who the best fighter in the world is.”
It’s not just fans that have been left underwhelmed by the Crawford-Spence fight falling through the cracks. Retired former world champion turned commentator Shawn Porter had some words of advice for Crawford, who tried unsuccessfully to negotiate directly with Spence and his promoter Al Haymon.
“Terence needs somebody else to represent him and speak to Mr Haymon, because Mr Haymon is not going to respect him as a businessman,” Porter told Tha Boxing Voice.
“We already know you throw the fists. What substantial [business sense] are you coming to me with? It is what it is.
“Nobody’s gonna respect Terence Crawford as a businessman until they see some business moves happen and they start to say, ‘Okay, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s legit.’ But this first shot, trying to get it with Errol and doing it on your own, ain’t gonna get it done.”
