Via Reggie Luna: This past Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, defending IBF, WBC and WBA Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr sent fans a message of hope regarding the long-awaited clash with the prestigious tennis player. WBO Terence Crawford takes place in 2022.
“I think it’s going to happen,” Spence told sportsman Jim Gray during the Showtime Championship Boxing broadcast.
“We both want to fight. I want to fight, and he wants to fight, and it will be negotiated. So I think we will definitely fight this year. This year we will end with the biggest fight in boxing. “
“I don’t know where, and I don’t know when, but it’s definitely going to happen this year.”
Although the Desoto, Texas-based fighter seems more optimistic that a deal will eventually be done, the current negotiations may have reached an impasse.
According to sources with knowledge of the ongoing discussions, Showtime Sports and Terence “Bud” Crawford are miles away from reaching an agreement on the proposed guaranteed sum.
After earning his career-highest single day of $6 million for his mandatory WBO title defense against Shawn Porter last November, the 34-year-old champion believes he has a point. requires a much more lucrative premium to step into the ring with a unified, undefeated list of Welterweight titrations.
Despite showing unfavorable numbers in previous PPV appearances with Amir Khan, Viktor Postol and most recently, pound for pound fighter Shawn Porter is confident a confrontation with Errol Spence will produce PPV figures would justify higher wallet security.
But is the need for millions of dollars realistic in light of the current economic climate and PPV bear market? Given the ongoing illegal streaming claim, combined with the recent history of less than excellent PPV counts across the board, does Bud’s claim make sense at this point?
Considering that the networks are only entitled to a mere 10% of total PPV revenue but are expected to secure the wallets of both fighters for the high-priced main event, Crawford’s costly claim can actually be a bit of a stretch. too high at this point.
Realistically, where would the money come from if the sport of boxing hadn’t driven massive subscriptions to Showtime and fans weren’t currently buying PPVs?
A longtime member of the boxing community, five-decade combat trainer James Gogue, recently shared his insights on the situation with “War a Week Radio” on YouTube this past Sunday night.
“It’s just not feasible,” Gogue declared. “Something has to be given away. Either the fighters have to be more reasonable with their security needs, or the fans will have to start financially supporting these PPVs again. “
“And after being expected to pay for every major boxing event over the past three decades, does anyone realistically expect long-time boxing fans to pay for these events if they had the option? Free streaming in HD?”
“If boxers are confident that their PPV will perform well and truly believe that fans will choose to buy the event, what’s wrong with making a more reasonable demand for guaranteed wallets, while invest in yourself with ancillary residual income?
“There’s a point where you have to ask yourself, why are these fighters demanding such highly secured wallets? Someone needs to start worrying about the investment of the networks. If networks like Showtime continue to lose money during these high-priced boxing events, do you really think they will continue to invest in our product? “
“If there were no TV day, what would happen to the sport of boxing in America?”
“That’s why HBO pulled out of the boxing business a few years ago. Can’t justify investing millions of dollars in a product that doesn’t deliver the same numbers as their other original program. “
“All stakeholders must understand; If the money isn’t there, the fight can’t be done, period. The networks responsible for spending money on these events are not in the business of losing money. “
Errol Spence Jr is said to have accepted an offer from Showtime Sports, so it appears Terence Crawford is the only party currently standing in the way, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Obviously, negotiations will continue for the next 2-3 weeks to find an amicable solution. But if an agreement can’t be reached within the allotted time, Showtime Sports, PBC and Errol Spence Jr will be forced to move to a noisy, undisputed match.
Will “Crawford vs. Spence” prove to be the “Lewis vs. Bowe” of this era?
All interested parties remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached in the next few weeks, and hopefully, fans will get to see Errol Spence Jr. or Terence “Bud” Crawford becomes the undisputed champion at Welterweight this fall.
