Terence Crawford has decided not to fight Errol Spence Jr.
BSO reported that Spence was upset at Crawford for not the contract.
When Errol Spence Jr.’s representative sent back another revised contract to Terence Crawford’s attorney early this month, those working on Spence’s behalf were optimistic that it would lead to the consummation of a deal for the unbeaten welterweight champions to finally fight at some point early in 2023.
The most recent three changes Crawford’s attorney requested, none of which were considered major deal points, were made. He hasn’t responded, however, to Spence’s representative in the two weeks since he was sent the revised contract.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the recent silence from the lawyer negotiating on Crawford’s behalf has caused growing concern on Spence’s side that Crawford’s team isn’t committed to completing a deal for what would be the most meaningful non-heavyweight fight in boxing. Neither side has set a deadline by which negotiations need to result in a completed deal, but BoxingScene.com has been informed that Spence’s handlers believe they have made all of the changes Crawford’s attorney has requested and are perplexed as to why he hasn’t gotten back to them.
Initially, November 19 was widely reported as the targeted date for their bout. Potential dates early in 2023 became more realistic options once the two sides failed to complete a deal last month, though, because there wouldn’t have been enough time to properly promote a pay-per-view event of that magnitude prior to November 19.
Now, the news is Crawford has moved on.
Welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford and David Avanesyan have signed contracts for a pay-per-view fight on Dec. 10 at CHI Health Center in the champion’s native Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford told ESPN on Thursday.
The fight will be available on BLK Prime for $39.95, a spokesperson for the streaming service told ESPN. Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) will earn a career-high eight-figure payday, sources said.
Crawford remains in talks to face Errol Spence Jr. for the undisputed 147-pound championship, but when it became clear to Crawford that PBC was now targeting the first quarter of 2023 for that fight, he decided to push forward with a title defense to ensure he, like Spence, fought at least once in 2022.
Spence and Crawford are still motivated to strike a deal, sources said. With both fighters in their primes — and peaking — the welterweight summit meeting stands as one of the biggest commercial fights in the sport.
“I’m excited about this opportunity,” Crawford said. “I was really looking forward to the Errol Spence fight. I started communicating with [boxing manager] Al Haymon and PBC back in June. And unfortunately, they represent a fighter in Errol Spence who didn’t want the fight as bad as I did.
Crawford says he still wants to fight Spence, but the earliest it could happen now is late spring/early summer. It might be pushed back even later if Spence decides to take a fight in January.
Also, we have to come to the realization that the fight might never happen.
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