The other day, on the sidelines, there was talk that a superfight between undefeated US welterweight champions Errol Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) and Terence Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) would take place in early 2023, immediately after at least the expected fight in the light weight category between the Americans Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia.
However, the source did not inspire much confidence, and this time the insider did not receive the same publicity as it did in September. Moreover, some even claim that, in fact, Spence and Crawford were tired of negotiations and finally abandoned the idea of determining the strongest in a head-to-head fight.
What is really going on there? The person who directly deals with the negotiations knows best – and this is the boss Showtime Sports Stephen
Espinosa: “First about the good. We are still negotiating. I still remain optimistic. As far as I’m concerned, everything is going according to plan. I know everyone is impatient. But understand that this is a big fight. And for it to take place, both sides must be satisfied. Understand that personally I am interested in this fight taking place yesterday. Everybody wants it. But there is a mountain of little things. And until we resolve all contentious issues, until then, do not wait for the announcement.
On the huge number of insiders about the fight: “We are getting closer to the fight every day. But there are a huge number of people who are eager to share their insides with the public. Most of the time, they don’t know much about the situation. Or they know very little: half, a fourth, or even 5%. But they want to look important and omniscient. As for me, as long as you do not know the whole truth, there is nothing to run to the media at all. But you need to understand the newsmen too – they need a hot headline, they need clicks.”
Predictions: “I’m very optimistic, but I can’t guarantee anything. I think that the most important thing we have is that both Terence and Errol want the fight to take place. Rumors that it is Crawford who is slowing down the whole process? I think it’s not fair to say that. He will not sign the contract until all his wishes are taken into account. The same goes for Errol. So I’m not going to shout that the whole problem is in him. Understand, we need a deal that satisfies all parties. Only then will we get a signature on the contract from both sides.”
On the talk that the fight could take place in November: “Let’s be honest. We practically don’t have time to do the fight on November 19th. Is it possible to completely forget about this date? I wouldn’t rush though. But I don’t see a problem if we postpone the fight to December. After all, we also need time for full-scale promotions.”
Floyd Mayweather recently said that this fight should not be expected in the near future. Espinosa’s response: “No, I wouldn’t say that. There are regular negotiations going on. There are no prerequisites for asserting that the fight will take place not now, but in six months. It just takes a little more time for things like this. I’ll say more. We don’t have any alternatives. We don’t even discuss them. And only in the event that the negotiations finally break down, we will be ready to discuss plan B, C, D and even E. But not before.
On how much pay-per-view they can sell: “I don’t like that kind of talk. But let’s reason together. This is a really good fight. Two undefeated boxers. Two fighters from the P4P rating. Both claim to be at the top of the rankings. You know what’s cool about this fight? Just because the number of pay-per-views sold is no indication of how cool he is. It’s just a fight that needs to happen. And I believe it will happen.”
On the promotion: “How much time do we need? You know, everyone has their own opinion. Usually everyone wants to get 3 months, that is 12 weeks. But it seems to me that in this case there is no such need. Television is changing. We live in the digital age. Information spreads so fast and lightning fast… Can we manage in 6 weeks? Of course. But is this the best option? I think no. It would be better to have 8-10 weeks in stock. Roughly like this.”
Does this mean that Spence and Crawford will fight before the end of the year? There is an opinion of the expert Bradley. Meanwhile, the top coach said that Crawford would beat Spence, voiced the arguments.
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