(Editor’s note: This column originally published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)
The fight for which fans have clamored the past few years is close to becoming reality.
[autotag]Terence Crawford[/autotag] and [autotag]Errol Spence Jr.[/autotag] are near a deal to meet in a pay-per-view showdown for the undisputed welterweight championship this October in Las Vegas, ESPN is reporting.
It arguably would be the biggest welterweight fight since Felix Trinidad outpointed Oscar De La Hoya in another battle of unbeaten stars in 1999.
Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) holds three of the 147-pound titles, Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) the fourth.
The parties remain in talks, meaning no final agreement has been reached, ESPN cautioned.
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Crawford recently left long-time promoter Top Rank, which evidently has made it easier to make a fight with the PBC-managed Spence.
“There’s nothing standing in the way from us fighting,” Crawford told ESPN in April. “There’s no promotion company that’s blocking it, there’s no wrong side of the street, there’s no nothing.
“Let’s see who the best welterweight in the world is.”
Crawford, Boxing Junkie’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound, is coming off a sensational 10th-round knockout of Shawn Porter in the fifth defense of his WBO belt in November, the biggest victory in his career.
Spence, No. 4 on Boxing Junkie’s list, last fought in April, when he stopped Yordenis Ugas in 10 rounds to collect the third of his three titles. He wears the IBF, WBA and WBC belts.