The last time Errol Spence Jr stepped through the ropes was to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight world title.
The pair were both undefeated and had dominated the 147 ranks for some time. Spence put three of the four major belts on the line against Crawford’s one in a long-awaited main event that was billed a pick ’em fight.
Crawford flipped the script, putting a beating on Spence, dropping him twice and ending it in the ninth round. He has since moved up to super-welterweight and beat Israil Madrimov to become WBA Champion.
Spence, who didn’t capitalise on a rematch clause with Crawford, also set his sights on the jump up in weight and had targeted Sebastian Fundora since March 2024 when ‘The Towering Inferno’ beat Tim Tszyu for his WBO belt as well as the vacant WBC. Spence’s shot at the unified champion was never official and faced many delays. Now, ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reports that it is off the table entirely.
👀👀👀 well….
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) January 16, 2025
In direct response to the news, Crawford said on social media, “well…” before posting a message saying:
“Should have took the fight when you had the chance, now it’s over with.”
Should have took the fight when you had the chance, now it’s over with.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) January 16, 2025
Whilst it could be in reference to Spence and his failure to capitalise on the shot, which the WBO says it would never have sanctioned anyway, he is more likely speaking directly to Fundora. The pair were ordered to face off but reached an agreement for Fundora to have a voluntary defence before re-entering talks with ‘Bud.’
Crawford has moved on now and could be set to jump up to super-middleweight to face Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez this year, though he could potentially explore the Fundora unification if there is a delay or a stall in talks.
Where this leaves Spence and his future career is unclear.
