Posted on 05/01/2023
By: Sean Crose
Welterweight kingpins Errol Spence and Bud Crawford are, according to numerous sources, back at the negotiating table. What’s more, it’s said that the two men are very close to actually signing a contract that will allow them to finally step inside the ring to face one another. This story is certainly newsworthy, especially when one considers the fact that it’s being reported by reliable outlets. Still, this is most certainly a case of wait and see – especially as far as fans of the fight game are concerned. We’ve been down this road before, after all. And no one needs reminding of how recent negotiations between the two undefeated fighters collapsed several months back.
With all that being said, there’s no denying this month’s Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia superfight probably served as a motivating factor to top fighters to actually square off against each other, something that occurs far too infrequently in the sport these days. Aside from Spence and Crawford, top heavyweights Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk saw their own negotiations for a superfight collapse into a heap smoldering ashes not so long ago. Promoters, managers and sometimes even the fighters themselves have regularly shown a stubborn unwillingness to make major matchups become a reality. Credit Spence and Crawford for at least being willing to try.
You can’t help but at least suspect the business of boxing has morphed into something like a Terry Gilliam film, a universe so weighed down by bureaucracy and fine print that it is no longer able to function at the highest levels. Except, of course, it can. Davis and Garcia proved that. It’s the fighters themselves, after all, who have the final say in these matters. And sometimes all that’s required are three words: make – it – happen. That’s what appears to have been the case with Garcia and Davis. The two men wanted the fight and so the fight came to be.
Of course it’s worth noting that both Davis and Garcia are younger than Crawford and Spence – two men who are now well into their thirties. It’s only fair to note that, although they make a ton of money, money can go quickly, and career prospects for ex fighters aren’t always promising. In other words, men like Spence and Crawford have good reason to want to get all they can out of an event they literally may not survive. Both men have children to provide for. Yet it also must be noted that boxing is a sport, and sports require there to be contests between the best practitioners if they’re to remain the least bit interesting.
There’s reason to hope one of the most interesting potential fights in a generation might actually be signed – but don’t believe it until you see it.