DALLAS — Contract talks have restarted for an undisputed welterweight title fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.
Spence and Crawford were in discussion for a unification fight last year until it stalled. Crawford elected to fight David Avanesyan, which surprised Spence, who said at the time he agreed to a deal. Crawford defeated Avanesyan by sixth-round knockout on Dec. 10.
Spence (28-0, 22 knockouts) said he would fight one more time in the welterweight division before moving up in weight. His representatives engaged in discussions with fighting Keith Thurman, a former welterweight champion.
The fight between Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) and Spence was tentatively scheduled for June 17.
Of course, the bigger fight is between Spence, who holds three of the four welterweight belts, and Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs), the WBO champion.
Spence’s last fight was April 16, 2022 when he defeated Yordenis Ugas via a 10th-round technical knockout at AT&T Stadium. After the victory, Spence said his objective was to fight Crawford.
When the two sides couldn’t agree with the terms of a bout, both fighters moved on.
Now there is another attempt to make this major fight happen. A deal isn’t imminent yet both sides are hopeful something can get finalized.
Ortiz fight gets postponed
Welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. pulled out of his April 29 welterweight fight against Eimantas Stanionis with a health issue. Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) had a flare-up of rhabdomyolysis.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, rhabdomyolysis is a muscle injury that can be considered life-threatening. It normally happens after an injury or excessive exercise without the proper rest. Damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. It can also cause damage to the heart and kidneys.
This is the second time Ortiz has had a fight postponed due to rhabdomyolysis. He was scheduled to fight Michael McKinson last year but had that fight moved to the summer. Ortiz was able to recover from the syndrome and defeated McKinson with a sixth-round knockout on August 6.
Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs, 1 no-contest) was scheduled to face Ortiz on March 18 but pulled out because he needed an appendectomy.
This fight was going to take place at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center. It hasn’t been determined if a fight card will occur on that date with the main event being moved.
