A potential super fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. reportedly isn’t dead yet.
ESPN is reporting that the welterweight titleholders have communicated directly by telephone — without the involvement of promoters, managers and networks — and have agreed on an undisclosed purse split.
Crawford then sent what was called a “memorandum of understanding” to Premier Boxing Champions, which manages Spence.
No potential date or site was reported.
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Spence has been negotiating to defend his 147-pound titles against former beltholder Keith Thurman in April, although that deal hasn’t been finalized.
And the WBO has ordered Crawford, it’s champion, to defend against No. 1 contender Alexis Rocha. It’s not clear whether the handlers of Crawford and Rocha have opened talks.
If Crawford and Spence can reach a deal, they presumably would meet after the fights that are in the works.
They reportedly had come to terms for a showdown last November. However, talks broke down before the contracts were signed and the fighters moved on.
Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) ended up defending against tough, but overmatched David Avanesyan in December. He stopped the challenger in the sixth round.
Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t fought since he knocked out Yordenis Ugas in 10 rounds in a title-unification bout last April.
The matchup has been compared to other great welterweight clashes because of the status of the fighters. Crawford tops Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list, Spence is No. 4.
However, it has been difficult to make the fight because the principals have been affiliated with competing handlers, Crawford with Top Rank and Spence with PBC.
Crawford split from Top Rank late last year, which opened a wider path to an agreement.