DALLAS — Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza told the Fight Freaks Unite podcast on Thursday the potential Errol Spence-Terence Crawford fight has a 75% chance of happening.
The fight between the two best welterweights in the sport is near the finish line, but Espinoza disputes the notion of a June 17 date for the bout.
“It was not the date,” Espinoza said. “The date doesn’t make sense.” Espinoza said the fight could happen in the summer/early fall.
A site for the fight hasn’t been finalized, though Texas is ruled out with Crawford, from Omaha, Neb., reluctant to fight in Spence’s hometown of Dallas.
Last year, Crawford, the WBO champion, pulled out of contract talks when it appeared, at least from Spence’s perspective, the fight would happen.
Crawford elected to fight Danny Avanesyan, winning by sixth-round knockout on Dec. 10. Spence’s last fight was over a year ago, April 16, when he defeated Yordenis Ugas by technical knockout in the 10th round at AT&T Stadium.
Spence, a holder of three welterweight belts, has been waiting to reach a deal with Crawford and Espinoza indicated that the issues aren’t all on the DeSoto native.
“I give them credit, Errol stayed at the negotiating table for a year,” Espinoza said, who later added, “there is definitely progress. Closer than we were last fall.”
Espinoza said Spence is expected to attend Saturday’s lightweight fight between Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia as a fan more than a fighter coming to a potential announcement for a bout with Crawford. There was a belief an announcement would occur Saturday for Spence-Crawford. But that won’t happen.
“I think it will get done because there was an opportunity and a window where it had gone away completely,” Espinoza said on the podcast. “And it would have been very easy for both guys to go their separate ways and they didn’t and they came back to the table. It hasn’t been easy and nobody has left the table yet.”
