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Alors que les spéculations se multiplient selon lesquelles l’un des plus grands matchs d’unification complète de la boxe est en péril, l’un des participants a décidé qu’il devait donner aux fans anxieux une démonstration de confiance.
Des rapports récents ont indiqué que les négociations pour une confrontation incontestée des poids welters entre la liste de titres WBO Terence Crawford et le champion WBA, WBC et IBF Errol Spence Jr. ont atteint un barrage routier qui pourrait même potentiellement retarder le combat jusqu’à l’année prochaine.
Mike Coppinger d’ESPN a rapporté vendredi dernier que le combat était “en danger” concernant les problèmes que Crawford avait avec son contrat. Coppinger a déclaré que de nouveaux retards pourraient entraîner le combat au début de l’année prochaine. On pense que le 19 novembre à Las Vegas est la date prévue pour le combat.
Mercredi, Spence a utilisé son compte Twitter pour apaiser les esprits troublés.
“Sh!t se passe ensuite tout ce que vous devez savoir! [peace sign emoji)” Spence wrote.
A fight that boxing fans have been clamoring for for years stepped out of the realm of imagination into reality this past spring after Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), Desoto, Texas, capsized Yordenis Ugas with a 10th-round stoppage at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The win garnered Spence a third title (Ugas’ WBA strap) and set into motion negotiations with Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs), who parted ways with his longtime promoter, Top Rank, the previous year.
It has long been thought that promotional and network schisms—Spence is backed by Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions, which has output deals with Fox and Showtime—was the chief impediment to making a match between the two highly regarded welterweights, an obstacle that conceivably no longer exists ever since Crawford became a free agent.
Recently, in response to the news, former titlist Keith Thurman Jr. indicated that he would be ready to fill in as a backup should a deal for Spence-Crawford fall apart. (Thurman, a longtime Haymon client, would ostensibly fight Spence in that scenario).
Showtime Sports head Stephen Espinoza, whose network could potentially distribute the fight on pay-per-view, also pushed back on rumors that the fight was in dire straits.
“Negotiations are ongoing, and we’re still working hard to make the fight,” Espinoza told a follower on Twitter. “Sorry I don’t have more to offer, but publicly airing the negotiations would only make it more difficult to make a deal. Oh, and don’t believe everything you read.”
