LOS ANGELES — Welterweight world titlist Errol Spence Jr. has significant business to deal with in the form of fellow beltholder Shawn Porter, but that has not stopped Spence from talking about the bigger fights he wants.
Spence and Porter meet to unify their 147-pound belts in one of the year’s most significant bouts in the much-anticipated main event of the Premier Boxing Champions card on Saturday (Fox PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at Staples Center. But Spence is a heavy favorite and was quite relaxed when meeting with a small group of reporters to discuss the fight as well as his future on Wednesday. He said once he unifies two belts by beating Porter, he wants to line up the two other titleholders in the division to become undisputed champion: the legendary all-time great Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford, who ranks No. 2 in the ESPN top pound-for-pound poll.
Pacquiao outpointed Keith Thurman to win a title in a tremendous battle on July 20 and his team has begun to look at options for his next fight, which is likely to be in the first quarter of next year. Adviser Sean Gibbons told ESPN potential opponents are former world titleholders Danny Garcia and Mikey Garcia (no relation) with the hope that Floyd Mayweather will once again exit retirement and give Pacquiao a rematch of their record-breaking 2015 mega fight.
However, Spence (25-0, 21 KOs), 29, said he hopes he can get Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs), 40, in the ring next in what would amount to a changing-of-the-guard fight after facing Porter.
“If not (Pacquiao) I’ll choose somebody else who is worthy of the competition and who has a big name,” Spence said. “A lot of people say (Pacquiao) wouldn’t (fight me) but if you know the history of Pacquiao, he’s a guy who will fight anybody, any where, any time. If the money’s right he’ll definitely fight. There are probably guys on his business side who say nah, but I think if the fight’s right Pacquiao would definitely take the fight.”
Pacquiao-Spence is a very makeable fight if Pacquiao wants it because they are both with Premier Boxing Champions.
Then there is a legacy-caliber unification fight with Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs), which would be something of a Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns showdown of this era but is far more complicated to put together.
Crawford, who is likely to face mandatory challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0-1, 17 KOs) on Dec. 14 in an ESPN-televised main event, is with PBC rival Top Rank. Even though Spence and Crawford have said over and over they want the fight, Top Rank and PBC rarely do business at the highest level. If there is hope, however, it is that the companies recently made a deal for a Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight title rematch, one of the biggest fights in boxing.
“If it doesn’t happen next year or the year after that I don’t think it will ever happen,” Spence said of a Crawford fight.
He said he has spoken to Al Haymon, his adviser and the PBC creator, about the prospect of that fight.
“(Haymon) says the business isn’t right and that him and (Top Rank chairman) Bob (Arum) can’t come to an agreement on the business part, so it’s not gonna happen right now.” But Spence holds out hope
“I think the fight can happen. I want it to happen,” Spence said. “I think it will happen. It should happen late 2020 or early 2021. I think it’s gonna happen. I don’t think he has any opponents left, really. I have a couple opponents but I want to become undisputed (champion) and the only way I can become undisputed is to take his belt, so we definitely have to make something happen so I can get his belt.”