Errol Spence Jr. reportedly has exercised a rematch clause that will allow him to meet Terence Crawford a second time.
Errol Spence Jr. evidently is a glutton for punishment.
The former 147-pound beltholder was dominated and ultimately knocked out by Terence Crawford in a battle for the undisputed championship on July 29 in Las Vegas, Spence’s first loss and a blow to his reputation.
Now he wants to go there again. Crawford’s trainer, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, told Pro Boxing Fans that Spence has exercised the rematch clause in their original contract.
McIntyre said no specific date for the second fight has been discussed. He hopes it will happen before the end of the year.
“[Crawford] just texted me yesterday and said that Spence has activated his rematch. That’s confirmed,” McIntrye said.
The rematch almost certainly would take place at a 154 pounds, as Spence has indicated he plans to move up in weight.
Their first fight was thought to be a 50-50 matchup but quickly turned into a rout.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) dominated Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) beginning in the second round, when he put Spence down for the first of three times. He also dropped Spence twice in Round 7, when it became clear that Spence had little chance to win.
Crawford was simply too quick, too clever and too good for his fellow pound-for-pounder, as if he was fighting a journeyman.
The ending was brutal. Crawford stung Spence about midway through Round 9 and then unloaded as vicious an assault as you’ll ever see in the ring. Spence somehow remained on his feet but he took terrible punishment, enough to convince referee Harvey Dock to end the slaughter.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:32 of the ninth.
Thus, Crawford became the first man to win the undisputed welterweight championship and capture all four major titles in a second division.
Pound-for-pound: Does No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk hold his position after his controversial victory over Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Poland?
No. 3-ranked Oleksandr Usyk presented us with an unusual problem.
The Ukrainian star got the job done against overmatched Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Poland, dominating the Londoner for most of their fight and delivering a ninth-round knockout to retain his heavyweight titles.
However, most observers believe Dubois should’ve been awarded a knockout victory in Round 5 when an apparent body shot put Usyk down and hurt him badly but was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon, which gave Usyk time to recover.
No doubt about it: Usyk was fortunate that he didn’t suffer the first loss of his career.
So where does that leave him on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?
We decided to leave him where he is based on the official result even though we’re convinced that the punch that put Usyk down landed above the top of the hip bone, which is the boundary line for a low blow.
Usyk’s run near the top of the pound-for-pound world might not last much longer, though.
He reiterated after his victory that he wants to face No. 5-ranked fellow beltholder Tyson Fury in his next fight if Fury beats Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28, possibly this winter in Saudi Arabia.
The 36-year-old Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) seems to be more vulnerable than he has ever been as a professional.
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30.
Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to challenge 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smit on Jan. 23 in Quebec City, Canada.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
Roman Gonzalez –No fight scheduled.
Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Oct. 28 but no announcement has been made.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16).
Pound-for-pound: Does No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk hold his position after his controversial victory over Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Poland?
No. 3-ranked Oleksandr Usyk presented us with an unusual problem.
The Ukrainian star got the job done against overmatched Daniel Dubois on Saturday in Poland, dominating the Londoner for most of their fight and delivering a ninth-round knockout to retain his heavyweight titles.
However, most observers believe Dubois should’ve been awarded a knockout victory in Round 5 when an apparent body shot put Usyk down and hurt him badly but was ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon, which gave Usyk time to recover.
No doubt about it: Usyk was fortunate that he didn’t suffer the first loss of his career.
So where does that leave him on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?
We decided to leave him where he is based on the official result even though we’re convinced that the punch that put Usyk down landed above the top of the hip bone, which is the boundary line for a low blow.
Usyk’s run near the top of the pound-for-pound world might not last much longer, though.
He reiterated after his victory that he wants to face No. 5-ranked fellow beltholder Tyson Fury in his next fight if Fury beats Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28, possibly this winter in Saudi Arabia.
The 36-year-old Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) seems to be more vulnerable than he has ever been as a professional.
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30.
Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to challenge 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smit on Jan. 23 in Quebec City, Canada.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
Roman Gonzalez –No fight scheduled.
Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Oct. 28 but no announcement has been made.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16).
Pound-for-pound: Oleksandr Usyk will have his chance to make a statement against Daniel Dubois on Saturday.
Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue bolstered their claims on the top spot on most pound-for-pound lists with spectacular knockout victories recently, Crawford over Errol Spence Jr. and Inoue over Stephen Fulton Jr.
Now Oleksandr Usyk has his chance to make such a statement.
The heavyweight titleholder — behind only Nos. 1 and 2 Crawford and Inoue on Boxing Junkie’s list — is scheduled to defend his belts against capable challenger Daniel Dubois at Stadion Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland. (DAZN).
Usyk, the former cruiserweight champion from Ukraine, left no doubt about his greatness by twice defeating former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua in 2021 and last year.
He was expected to fight fellow beltholder Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship but they couldn’t reach an agreement, although that could come next year.
Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) is a serious threat to Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) but the latter is favored. If he wins in dominating fashion, he will keep pace with Crawford and Inoue.
And if he ends up meeting No. 5 Fury and manages to win that fight, it would be difficult to separate the top three.
Stay tuned.
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois on Saturday (Aug. 26) in Wroclaw, Poland.
Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30.
Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to challenge 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smiton Jan. 23 in Quebec City, Canada.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
Roman Gonzalez –No fight scheduled.
Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Oct. 28 but no announcement has been made.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16).
Pound-for-pound: Oleksandr Usyk will have his chance to make a statement against Daniel Dubois on Saturday.
Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue bolstered their claims on the top spot on most pound-for-pound lists with spectacular knockout victories recently, Crawford over Errol Spence Jr. and Inoue over Stephen Fulton Jr.
Now Oleksandr Usyk has his chance to make such a statement.
The heavyweight titleholder — behind only Nos. 1 and 2 Crawford and Inoue on Boxing Junkie’s list — is scheduled to defend his belts against capable challenger Daniel Dubois at Stadion Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland. (DAZN).
Usyk, the former cruiserweight champion from Ukraine, left no doubt about his greatness by twice defeating former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua in 2021 and last year.
He was expected to fight fellow beltholder Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship but they couldn’t reach an agreement, although that could come next year.
Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) is a serious threat to Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) but the latter is favored. If he wins in dominating fashion, he will keep pace with Crawford and Inoue.
And if he ends up meeting No. 5 Fury and manages to win that fight, it would be difficult to separate the top three.
Stay tuned.
Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:
BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND
Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to defend his three heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois on Saturday (Aug. 26) in Wroclaw, Poland.
Dmitry Bivol – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – No fight scheduled.
Canelo Alvarez– Scheduled to defend his 168-pound titles against Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30.
Jermell Charlo – Scheduled to challenge 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to defend his 175-pound titles against Callum Smiton Jan. 23 in Quebec City, Canada.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
Roman Gonzalez –No fight scheduled.
Devin Haney – Reportedly in talks to challenge 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on Oct. 28 but no announcement has been made.
Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (no fight scheduled); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Sunny Edwards (scheduled to face Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (scheduled to face Sunny Edwards in a 112-pound title-unification bout on Dec. 16).
Great Eight: Naoya Inoue takes over a new division and Juan Francisco Estrada joins the club.
The proliferation of titles makes it difficult for all but the most astute fans to determine the cream of the boxing crop.
That’s why Boxing Junkie came up with its “Great Eight” feature, which names the best fighter in each of the original eight weight classes –heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.
Heavyweight includes cruiserweight (and the WBC’s bridgerweight), light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight and so on.
In this installment of “Great Eight” we crown new champions at featherweight (plus junior featherweight) and bantamweight (plus junior bantamweight).
Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) – The top big man has a gimmie in his next fight, a lucrative, but ridiculous matchup with former MMA star Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28. An opponent with boxing experience should come next.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) – Canelo Alvarez opted to fight a 154-pounder (Jermell Charlo) instead of a 175-pounder (Alvarez’s conqueror Bivol) in his next fight. That leaves Bivol without an opponent. He wants to fight this fall.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) – The 154-pound champ is moving up to a different Great Eight division (175-168) to face Alvarez but he’ll probably fight at 160 or 154 afterward, which would allow him to maintain his place here.
WELTERWEIGHT
Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) – Crawford left no doubt that he’s the best at 147 (and 140) with his sensational ninth-round knockout of rival Errol Spence Jr. on July 29. It will be difficult for him to top that performance.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – Devin Haney has the belts at 135 pounds. Shakur Stevenson might be the most gifted in the division. But it’s “Tank” who has made the strongest impression and has the deepest resume.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Naoya Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) – Inoue turned in a Crawford-like performance on July 25 in Tokyo, where he dismantled Stephen Fulton Jr. in eight rounds to underscore his greatness and become champ of a second Great Eight division.
BANTAMWEIGHT
Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) – The 33-year-old Mexican replaces Inoue as the top man here because of his body of work, which includes two victories over the great Roman Gonzalez in his last three fights.
FLYWEIGHT
Sunny Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) – The slick Englishman will be defending his spot here on Dec. 16 in Phoenix, where he’ll take on Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout. The winner will be king here.
Great Eight: Naoya Inoue takes over a new division and Juan Francisco Estrada joins the club.
The proliferation of titles makes it difficult for all but the most astute fans to determine the cream of the boxing crop.
That’s why Boxing Junkie came up with its “Great Eight” feature, which names the best fighter in each of the original eight weight classes –heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.
Heavyweight includes cruiserweight (and the WBC’s bridgerweight), light heavyweight includes super middleweight, middleweight includes junior middleweight and so on.
In this installment of “Great Eight” we crown new champions at featherweight (plus junior featherweight) and bantamweight (plus junior bantamweight).
Here are the top fighters in the original eight divisions:
HEAVYWEIGHT
Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) – The top big man has a gimmie in his next fight, a lucrative, but ridiculous matchup with former MMA star Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28. An opponent with boxing experience should come next.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) – Canelo Alvarez opted to fight a 154-pounder (Jermell Charlo) instead of a 175-pounder (Alvarez’s conqueror Bivol) in his next fight. That leaves Bivol without an opponent. He wants to fight this fall.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) – The 154-pound champ is moving up to a different Great Eight division (175-168) to face Alvarez but he’ll probably fight at 160 or 154 afterward, which would allow him to maintain his place here.
WELTERWEIGHT
Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) – Crawford left no doubt that he’s the best at 147 (and 140) with his sensational ninth-round knockout of rival Errol Spence Jr. on July 29. It will be difficult for him to top that performance.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) – Devin Haney has the belts at 135 pounds. Shakur Stevenson might be the most gifted in the division. But it’s “Tank” who has made the strongest impression and has the deepest resume.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Naoya Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs) – Inoue turned in a Crawford-like performance on July 25 in Tokyo, where he dismantled Stephen Fulton Jr. in eight rounds to underscore his greatness and become champ of a second Great Eight division.
BANTAMWEIGHT
Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) – The 33-year-old Mexican replaces Inoue as the top man here because of his body of work, which includes two victories over the great Roman Gonzalez in his last three fights.
FLYWEIGHT
Sunny Edwards (20-0, 4 KOs) – The slick Englishman will be defending his spot here on Dec. 16 in Phoenix, where he’ll take on Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in a 112-pound title-unification bout. The winner will be king here.
Fighter of the Month: Terence Crawford gets the nod over Naoya Inoue for July.
Naoya Inoue made this somewhat more complicated than it should’ve been.
The Japanese “Monster” turned in the performance of his career on July 25 in Tokyo, overwhelming previously unbeaten Stephen Fulton before stopping him in the eighth round to become a four-division champion. His greatness was obvious.
Then, four days later, Terence Crawford outdid Inoue, dropping Errol Spence Jr. three times en route to knocking him out in nine rounds in Las Vegas to become the first welterweight to win all the major titles and first man to become “undisputed” in a second division in the four-belt era.
👀🔊 Así se vio y oyó desde ringside el KO 💣💥 de Terence Crawford a Errol Spence Jr
He also delivered a victory that everyone agrees was defining, bolstering the notion that he’s the best fighter in the world.
Why was Crawford’s performance superior to Inoue’s? The competition.
Fulton is an excellent, seasoned boxer who was an Honorable Mention on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list going into the fight. Spence is better and much more accomplished than Fulton, who is a relatively light puncher. Spence was No. 4 on the list and might’ve ended up on top had he taken down No. 1 Crawford.
Inoue’s victory was good enough to be a Performance of the Year in some years. In this case, it wasn’t even the Performance of the Week … or month.
Thus, while we acknowledge Inoue’s exceptional night, Crawford clearly earned Fighter of the Month honors for July by embarrassing a future Hall of Famer.
Is Crawford’s victory good enough to make him the Fighter of the Year? It would help his cause to fight a second time in 2023, which is possible given that the new year is five months away. And, of course, other elite fighters will be in action.
Either way, Crawford will be a strong candidate. It might be years before we see a better performance.
Fighter of the Month: Terence Crawford gets the nod over Naoya Inoue for July.
Naoya Inoue made this somewhat more complicated than it should’ve been.
The Japanese “Monster” turned in the performance of his career on July 25 in Tokyo, overwhelming previously unbeaten Stephen Fulton before stopping him in the eighth round to become a four-division champion. His greatness was obvious.
Then, four days later, Terence Crawford outdid Inoue, dropping Errol Spence Jr. three times en route to knocking him out in nine rounds in Las Vegas to become the first welterweight to win all the major titles and first man to become “undisputed” in a second division in the four-belt era.
👀🔊 Así se vio y oyó desde ringside el KO 💣💥 de Terence Crawford a Errol Spence Jr
He also delivered a victory that everyone agrees was defining, bolstering the notion that he’s the best fighter in the world.
Why was Crawford’s performance superior to Inoue’s? The competition.
Fulton is an excellent, seasoned boxer who was an Honorable Mention on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list going into the fight. Spence is better and much more accomplished than Fulton, who is a relatively light puncher. Spence was No. 4 on the list and might’ve ended up on top had he taken down No. 1 Crawford.
Inoue’s victory was good enough to be a Performance of the Year in some years. In this case, it wasn’t even the Performance of the Week … or month.
Thus, while we acknowledge Inoue’s exceptional night, Crawford clearly earned Fighter of the Month honors for July by embarrassing a future Hall of Famer.
Is Crawford’s victory good enough to make him the Fighter of the Year? It would help his cause to fight a second time in 2023, which is possible given that the new year is five months away. And, of course, other elite fighters will be in action.
Either way, Crawford will be a strong candidate. It might be years before we see a better performance.
Terence Crawford’s next move: 5 potential opponents for the new undisputed welterweight champion.
How does Terence Crawford top that?
The new undisputed 147-pound champion probably can’t given the magnitude of his meeting with Errol Spence Jr., who he dropped three times and knocked out in nine rounds Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Crawford will try to maintain his momentum, however. That means he’ll want to face an opponent that fans perceive to be compelling while balancing the need to face mandatory challengers, which is always tricky.
The top 147-pound contenders in each of the four major sanctioning bodies are: Jaron Ennis (IBF); Eimantas Stanionis (WBA); Vergil Ortiz (WBC); and Alexis Rocha (WBO).
Of course, Crawford can opt to move up to 154 pounds, at which he could conceivably face Spence in a rematch or wait for Jermell Charlo to move back down to that weight after he fights Canelo Alvarez at 168 on Sept. 30, although Crawford certainly would take an interim fight.
Here are five immediate options for Crawford (in order of preference):
JARON ENNIS
Record: 31-0 (28 KOs)
This is the matchup fans are talking about. Ennis doesn’t have the track record of Spence but he aces any eye test. He’s the only welterweight who can match Crawford’s speed, power and explosiveness – maybe even exceed it – and he obviously has technical ability, although he hasn’t proved it against one of the top handful of 147-pounders. I would pick Crawford to beat any welterweight or junior middleweight at the moment, including Charlo. That’s a given after what we saw on Saturday. The goal should be to find the man who poses the most significant threat. That would be Ennis, a physical freak who has the ingredients to be truly special. And he’s 26, nine years younger than Crawford and in his prime. No other potential 147-pound matchup compares.
VERGIL ORTIZ
Record: 19-0 (19 KOs)
Ortiz is similar to Ennis, although he certainly doesn’t have the speed of his Philadelphia counterpart. That could be his undoing against Crawford, whose quickness has been a key factor in his success. And Oritz’s resume is no better than Ennis’, perhaps worse. The 25-year-old Texan has taken down solid opposition but he has faced no one with the ability to provide a genuine test. However, he’s a well-schooled boxer. His knockout percentage speaks for itself. He can hurt or break down anyone with the right punch or punches, including Crawford. At least that would be the perception going into the fight, which would go a long way in selling it to the public. And Ortiz, like Ennis, also would have youth on his side. Ortiz probably doesn’t have the tools to present a serious threat to Crawford but the matchup is good on paper. One caveat: He pulled out of a fight with Eimantas Stanionis last month because of health concerns. He needs to sort that out.
EIMANTAS STANIONIS
Record: 14-0 (9 KOs)
The 28-year-old Lithuanian was due his shot at the WBA title but stepped aside so then-titleholder Spence could fight Crawford. That probably doesn’t mean much now, although he certainly is near the front of the line to face Crawford. His relative lack of name recognition would be a liability in the promotion, although hardcore fans would buy into the fight. Stanionis is an excellent all-around fighter, though. He’s is similar to Spence in that he has refined technique and unusual toughness, although the latter certainly didn’t serve Spence last Saturday. He doesn’t have a deep resume but he’s coming off his most significant victory, a split decision over previously unbeaten Radzhab Butaev in April of last year that should’ve been unanimous. Stanionis, like the others, would be a significant underdog against Crawford but he has good tools and a fighting spirit that could server him well.
KEITH THURMAN
Record: 30-1 (22 KOs)
A lot of fans will roll their eyes when they see that Thurman is on this list. The former two-time 147-pound titleholder has been relatively inactive – one fight in the past four years – and appears to be past his prime, as we saw when he lost a split decision to 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao in 2019. He battled injuries during his time away. On the upside he’s only 34, a year younger than Crawford, and is coming off a one-sided decision over Mario Barrios in February of last year. Could Thurman beat Crawford? Almost certainly not. However, a fighter of his pedigree would be a solid opponent and his recognizable name and outgoing personality would help sell the fight. Crawford could do worse than Thurman.
ERROL SPENCE JR.
Record: 28-1 (22 KOs)
Spence can trigger a rematch clause in their original contract, which would set up a second fight at either 154 pounds or perhaps a catch weight above 147. That’s a bad idea for both men. The fight on Saturday couldn’t have been more conclusive, meaning a rematch makes no sense. Crawford has nothing to prove. As one colleague put it, “That would be money over logic.” And I don’t believe fans would be as interested in seeing a second fight as Crawford and Spence seem to think they would. Fans are savvy. They know what they saw. They’re not interested in mismatches, which is what a second Crawford-Spence fight would be. Don’t be shocked if it happens, though. Spence can demand it and Crawford would find the low-risk payday attractive.
