Errol Spence Jr. will have a slew of welterweight options to choose from following his victory over Danny Garcia, and none of the roads directly lead to Terence Crawford.
The WBC and IBF champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is signed under Al Haymon’s PBC banner, where a pool of pugilists like Manny Pacquiao, Yordenis Ugas, Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter wait to see which chairs they’ll be able to grab once the music stops.
Spence, one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best, could be the one who ultimately controls the playlist.
“A Porter rematch may be good. The first fight was an exciting fight. The second one would probably be like the first one,” Spence told the “PBC Podcast” hosted by Kenneth Bouhairie and Michael Rosenthal.
pacquiao-spence (1)
What about a fight with Keith Thurman, who’s been calling Spence out profusely of late after never really entertaining the idea when he was an unbeaten champion before losing to Manny Pacquiao?
“I don’t know,” said Spence, before moving on. “I like Ugas, he’s a real fighter. He’s a guy that would fight anybody, and he’s on a winning streak now. I like him as a fighter, and that could be a good fight.”
As for Pacquiao, the 42-year-old Filipino senator and eight-division champion can pick whoever he pleases at this stage of his Hall of Fame-bound career.
“It’s really up to Pacquiao,” said Spence regarding a future fight with Pacquiao.
“Welcome back, Errol Spence Jr. Congratulations on your victory,” Pacquiao wrote on Twitter following Spence’s unanimous decision win over Garcia.
The one opponent Spence, 30, is not overly eager in calling out is Crawford, 32, the much-desired rival who both hardcore and casual fans want to see him square off with.
Considering Crawford’s recent kerfuffle with Top Rank, and that his contract expires with the promotional company in October, Haymon and company could perhaps prefer to keep the waiting game going a little more and call on the Nebraska native once he’s an unrestricted free agent.
“I’m not going to stress out,” said Spence. “I’m going to enjoy my time off, and keep working. When it comes time to get back in there again, I’ll be ahead of schedule.”
By Manouk Akopyan (Boxingscene.com)