A much-talked-about fantasy fight featuring Errol Spence Jr. is gaining serious steam with each passing sound byte.
No, not Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) versus Terence Crawford Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) – that fight will finally take place July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and headline a Premier Boxing Champions card on Showtime pay-per-view.
The super fight that’s more and more of a hot topic is Spence versus undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Spence recently warned Alvarez to stay away from the light heavyweight division and instead face David Benavidez.
If presented with the opportunity, the 33-year-old career-long welterweight would climb close to the super middleweight mark and welcome a fight against Alvarez.
“We're not thinking about Canelo right now. If the fight comes across the table, I definitely will take that fight. I feel like 165 to 168, that's more my natural weight and a lot easier for me to make, so I definitely will take that fight,” Spence told a group of reporters.
Tom Brown of TGB Promotions said last year he offered Alvarez $50 million for a Spence fight at 164 pounds as part of a two-fight deal that would have started with Alvarez fighting Spence stablemate Jermall Charlo for a guaranteed purse of $45 million.
Alvarez instead opted to move up to light heavyweight to fight and eventually lose to Dmitry Bivol.
The tale of the tape for Spence-Alvarez does not make the fight appear to be a farfetched proposition. Spence is four months younger and sports height-and-reach advantages of two inches in each category.
Spence has previously promised an “all-out war” if a fight ever took place against Alvarez, while Alvarez has consistently brushed off the notion, saying that the dream fight is not his priority due to his ongoing and always-evolving career goals.
Alvarez’s lifelong confidant Eddy Reynoso has previously stated that the fight is fathomable.
After the Crawford chapter of his career closes, Spence will move up to super welterweight.
“This is the last belt to get before I finally move up. If he doesn't initiate the rematch clause, then I am moving up to 154 pounds,” he said.
If you ask Alvarez, there will be a rematch – in September, he picked Crawford to beat Spence.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.