By Gabriel F. Cordero
It has been learned that former world champion Errol Spence Jr. has activated his rematch clause to fight undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford. There is nothing finalized on dates, venue or even the weight division for Crawford-Spence 2, but the fight is expected before the end of the year or early 2024. Crawford had expressed interest in a possible bout against the Canelo-Charlo winner, but now it looks like he and Spence will be running it back.
seems crazy to think that people will pay to see this so soon again after such a recent beatdown.
Its not silly. Was the first fight boring?
The fans wanna see how Spence will respond. Give credit where its due. Spence willing to run it back, after a loss, is something your other so called p4p top fighters weren’t willing to do. This will likely be at 154lbs also so its not the same fight.
I support any top fighter willing to take big risk and challenge themselves. Thats Errol Spence!!!
Which pound per pound top fighters were you referring to that lost a one-sided fight but now want an immediate rematch? I’ll wait….
How is Spence taking a big risk and challenging himself?
Haney vs Loma II?
This is about Spence cashing out as a pro boxer. Do you think he wants to fight much beyond his 34th birthday? Quickest path to a final big payday, an instant rematch vs Crawford, if he doesn’t get at least a 151 lbs catchweight, is there much hope for him looking that much better? That fight went too long. After 2 knockdowns in round 7, the fight should have been over.
They did give Ruddock an instant rematch vs Tyson after a 7th round tko, but that first Tyson vs Riddick fight was way more exciting and Ruddock nailed Tyson a few times.
The public expects a Crawford win in a rematch, way less pay per view sales next time.
Riddick or Ruddock?
Couldn’t agree more. Spence was top p4p for a reason. I don’t expect him to win but I expect a better fight. He never stopped, didn’t fold, just got his ass kicked by a better fighter. Still, give me another top 10 fighter that loses a one sided fight and takes the immediate rematch.
Has nothing to do with what people will pay to see. Crawford is contractually obligated which doesn’t care about fan. I’m sure Crawford doesn’t want to have to do with again and wants to move on to Canelo vs Charlo winner but has no choice.
If Spence jumping up to junior middleweight to fight he needs to fight a fringe contender to test himself he comfortable at the weight before fighting Crawford again
No he doesn’t. This is Crawford’s first time fighting 154 too. This rematch will show all these excuse making Spence fans that he just lost to a superior boxer. I’m thinking people just have a hard thinking someone from Omaha, Nebraska could be this great a boxer.
I will probably get thumbs down for this from the Spence crowd but…it doesn’t matter how Spence slices the pie, the outcome will be the same. Maybe not as one sided but still the same. However, I get why Spence is exercising the rematch, not doing so is backing down and that is not who he is.
Agree. Crawford looked sooooo much stronger than Spence that moving up in weight likely just makes it worse. Add to that, Crawford slapped him around bad enough the first time that running it back so quickly seems like a fool’s errand. I’ll take Crawford inside of 6. Too strong, too clever, too smart.
Don’t worry about thumbs up or down. If folks can’t take the truth thats one them. Roy Jones said it best. Spence had one tool that worked well but Crawford had many tools that worked well. Spence has not had to use other tools well so this is a nearly impossible feat. Spence will lose again.
Was hoping to see Spence vs Tszyu fight. I guess Spence wants to cash in again just in case his career goes south in a hurry.
It’s Charlo who was scheduled to fight Tyszu at 154 not Spence,
Bud might as well cash in as well he’s no spring chicken
He has enough to beat Spence, cash in on a Canelo fight and retire undefeated. After beating Canelo there is nothing left to do except fight Tyson Fury.
Why Spence vs Tszyu when he was patiently waiting for his title shot? When Spence loses that would be an interesting fight that I would expect a 2 time losing Spence to lose.
Thought he wouldn’t? Spence is not a guy that will take a tune up. I can only hope that if he does not win that he can make it helluva more competitive this time. It will be an uphill battle because Crawford dominated him. Good luck.
Between the car wreck, the detached retina, and the one sided hiding Spence got, Errol may be probably the most damaged goods I’ve seen since Jermaine Taylor or Jeff Lacy.
“Contractually obligated” or not, it does not merit an immediate rematch in any way shape or form. One round was competitive.
This looks like a favor ala Jack Dempsey vs Billy Miske or Joe Louis vs John Henry Lewis. Miske needed money and was dying of a kidney disease. Lewis, the reigning light heavyweight champion, was completely blind in one eye and the other was rapidly failing. Both heavyweight champs took care of business quickly (Dempsey KO 4, Louis KO 1 respectively) and gave their ailing friends a last good payday.
Spence to cash out and retire, Bud will get some in-ring time before either fighting either Jermell or Jermall Charlo, Tszyu or Erislandy Lara.
Puglistica well stated ….did not want to say it but…that Spence …in the ring with Crawford on that night…was definitely not the same fighter of any Spence fight previously watched….just for the fans sake..too soon…
Spence looking for “step aside money”. Bud will blast Spence out in short order, take a great undercard to sell this fight.
Crawford beat up Spence easier than he did his other good opponents. Spence was not the same Spence as before the accident. A rematch if it was a close fight would have been ok, but not after this beating.
Probably the last fight of Spence Jr’s career……… assuming he passes all the required neurological testing that is
Ian…I believe that we all agree that after taking time to register what we witnessed….something did not seem right physically…etc… something just not right with Spence…most of the post here seem to go in that direction…
The way I understood it was that the loser had the rematch option but the winner would choose the weight class. With all of the trouble Spence has in making 147, if I’m Crawford, I’m making him do it again.
I posted this earlier but I will get on my soap box again! LOL! I do not like rematch clauses and this is one of the reasons. When a fight is this one sided an immediate rematch should be happening unless it is a major upset…like a Tyson-Douglas situation. This rematch is not in demand and could be very detrimental to Spence. The problem is pride. I am not a fighter but I would think that if I was beat that bad it is hard for a warrior to say no to a chance at redemption. Not enforcing the clause in his mind is backing down. If there was no clause he could fight someone else without thinking about people saying”See…he wants no part of Crawford now…he is afraid of another a** whipping”. Lets face it..there are idiots who could not beat Kermit on Sesame street who would say stuff like that. Having that clause puts a warrior like Spence in a horrible position.
I agree with the theory, Pete, but the problem is that Crawford agreed to it and Spence agreed to it. The same way Chantelle Cameroon and Zhang agreed to them and the won clearly. I’ve seen them passed on but it’s very infrequently. Jarrett Hurd declined his rematch to JRock, Terri Harper did as well to Baumgardner (and I think Kid Galahad did the same with Kiko on that same card with Harper – Baumgardner).
But I don’t want to see this again. When you have this first fight you’re looking SO forward to seeing FINALLY and it happens and it’s 50/50 going in and then turns out like that. Fast-forward to the rematch…. and literally the only way Spence wins is by landing something crazy or if Crawford breaks both of his hands or his knee goes out or something. But like you said, there’s no way Spence let’s people (I-D-I-O-T-S) say he was scared of that rematch for the rest of his life.
Fury/Wilder was much the same. Fury was proven so much better in the second fight that it just became needless drama to do a third. Fairness to Wilder, he tried his best and made it more competitive, but he still got KO’d hard.
I could see a rematch clause provided the first fight was a split decision or a draw, but if you get outclassed and beat up or knocked out then any rematch clause should be declared null and void.
Floyd Patterson vs Ingemar Johansson II
Tony Lopez vs John John Molina III
Luisito Espinoza vs Alejandro Gonzalez II
What do these fights have in common? The winners (Patterson, Lopez, Espinoza) all suffered dramatic one-sided losses in the previous encounter with the same opponent. It is possible to come back from a dominant loss. However many changes must be made. Mentally, emotionally, and physically. Patterson said he was able to go out and defeat Johansson to regain the heavyweight title because he convinced himself the first fight never happened. In fact, he said he remembered nothing after the first of seven knockdowns in round three anyway so that made it easier to put the first fight completely out of his mind. Spence has to do the same. You can’t dwell on what happened. Just go forward and focus strictly on the next fight. That’s the mental aspect. Emotionally, he has to put his whole heart into reversing the outcome. I am friends with Lopez on Facebook. I asked him one time how he was able to come back and win after such a one-sided beatdown from Molina in their second fight (he also got dropped in the first fight and won a very controversial decision). His reply? “Heart, my man. I never gave up belief in myself. I knew I could win if I got myself into great condition and made weight properly.” That brings us to the third category: physical. If the rematch is at 147, I give Spence very little chance of winning. However if it happens at 154 his chances go up significantly. That’s the first part. The second part is adding two very important and basic elements to his game: head movement and footwork. The last time he stood flat footed and his head sat still. If he has any chance of pulling this off, he needs consistent head movement (“You know punches are coming so don’t wait and try to dodge them; you have to already be moving before the punch comes in” as one of my boxing coaches taught) and then punch off the movement. Make defense and offense blend perfectly and flow smoothly. Move, punch, move, punch, move, punch. As far as footwork, he needs a little more bounce in his step. I’m not saying run all around the ring because that’s not his style. But he does need to close distance faster and also be able to step back quickly to offset Crawford’s awesome offense. The pendulum technique would be great for Spence to employ. Now for consistent head movement, effective punching, and pendulum footwork Spence will have to be in absolute tip-top condition. It will take ALOT of stamina and endurance to do this for 12 rounds, especially against someone as skilled and talented as Crawford. He will need a 10 week training camp for this.
So with all this being said, I realize a repeat win for Crawford in the same dominant fashion is the most likely of outcomes. I am a realist. It is going to be very hard, very difficult for Spence to win or even make this more competitive. I give him all the props in the world for going back in there. He has a ton of courage. My other concern is his health. He doesn’t look the same since the accident. If there is any neurological damage I would just as soon he retire. This sport is not worth further permanent damage if one is already compromised and certainly not worth losing your life. We shall see what happens.
Remember that Crawford is not Johansson, Molina or Gonzalez. He is the Sugar Ray Leonard without the hype.
Good point, Soren. Crawford is definitely a class above all three of those mentioned. If Spence pulls this off, I would consider it to be on the level of Leonard vs Hagler and Foreman vs Moorer.
Also Patterson was still young-Spence looks to be shot.
You could also argue the opposite in Foreman-Frazier II and Liston-Patterson II the rematch ended with the same result as the first encounter another amazing beat down.
It doesn’t look good for Spence right now he needs a tune up before getting in there again with Crawford, bud is a beast right now.
Bad idea.
So Spencer want another ko ???
Or he wants more money
Either or
Spence career will end in the rematch in brutal fashion!
I think Spence will do much better this time by comparison and will avoid taking as much damage so soon but will eventually be touched up again. Maybe not TKO’d this time but will lose a UD in the rematch.
Spence looked and talked like he had brain damage BEFORE the car accident. Did anyone see the punches he was throwing at Bud?!? Not being mean, but it literally looked like he was throwing punches like a 12 year old girl. Nothing on them at all and he looked so uncoordinated. He definitely has some sort of neurological damage. Taking the rematch is a bad idea, especially after the one sided beat down he just suffered through. I think the rematch will be much worse. Bud knows he can hurt him and he also knows Spence can’t hurt him. He’s going to come right at him and blast him out of there with ease. This time I think he’s actually going to get knocked out badly.
Berserker…I agree …it took a minute for me to register what I saw that night.. initially I was in denial about Spence performance…Wanting to believe Crawford is that Good….make no mistakes Crawford is a BEAST….a generational type fighter…but on that night Spence was awful…awful… certainly not the same fighter….that I saw fight and break other fighters…. something was absolutely wrong….my eyes did not deceive me…my mind does not want to believe what I saw…. But I have to accept the reality of Spence performance that night…we all saw it….
If I was Crawford, I’d insist the fight be at 147 not 154. A rematch should be based on what the 1st fight was fought at. Regardless after the beat down Spence encountered I expect more of the same, only difference, is there will be a lot less fan interest this time around.
With a good strategy the outcome of Spence vs Crawford 2.0 can be different than Spence vs Crawford 1.
What Spence can do,
1- Box and lateral movements, nonstop since he is susceptible to Bud’s power.
2- Fight from outside, do not engage or go toe to toe.
3- Jab, jab, jab, do not get any serious offensive going until after few rounds.
4- Come into night fight totally in shape, strong, do training a la Beterbiev, strengthen your neck. Train in a swimming pool, run uphill, get a conditioning coach if you dont have one.
5- Study Bud and see if there is a weakness, you can exploit.
Tai, I really think Spence will not be able to change anything he does. Fitness one can work on, if something else is wrong like Spence looks, you can’t charge or fix that.
Hello Henry,
Spence was undefeated for a reason. I hope it was a night off, and he can make adjustments.
Hi Tai, I really was hoping Spence would go up in weight, not 154, but even up to 160. He looked terribly drained at 147. And he needs a feel out fight just to see where’s he at.
Tai, Spence definitely needs to make some changes in his approach. However he can’t hope to change his style completely, especially not at his age. He’s more of a skilled stalker than a smooth boxer. I think his offensive skills are fine, no need to change much there. I don’t think he could do much by just jabbing for several rounds. He’s not going to beat Crawford with just a jab. He would be losing rounds and then have to go for a knockout. He needs to get out to an early lead on the scorecards and then maintain it. You are 100% correct he needs to be in better condition. I’m not sure if it is possible given his age, inactivity, and wear’n’tear on his body. As far as strategy, James needs to focus on his head/upper body movement and footwork. Not turn him into a boxer because that’s not who he is, but definitely improve his defense and ability to close distance and exit maneuvers. Cus D’Amato taught his boxers to punch and then move their head. For Spence, I would reverse that order. Crawford is quick on the draw and if Spence tries to punch and then move his head it is going to backfire on him. He’ll get hit with counters before he can get his hands back into position. However if he uses strategic head and upper body movement to throw off Crawford’s radar and then throws his punch while Crawford is trying to decide where he is moving his head next it could certainly create opportunities. I’m not sure Spence is capable of doing this but in my mind it’s his only shot. The other aspect is footwork. He was sloppier than I have ever seen him last July 29. He has never been a willow’o the wisp with his feet but he fought the first fight like he had concrete shoes on. He has to step lively and also get a bounce going forward and backward. The pendulum technique would be ideal. But he would need to temper it to fit his natural style. He can’t go out there looking like a rabbit or a kangaroo. It takes too much energy and plus Crawford would time those bounces and clock him good. He would have to mix in the pendulum with his normal stepping footwork. He will also need to stand his ground from time to time like he did in the first fight. He will have to have all three (standing, stepping, and pendulum) working in conjunction in order to have a chance to match Crawford’s amazing offense and defense. Make no mistake, this will be a very tall order.
We know that Spence can handle Bud power.
I suggested jab, jab, jab, and more jabs with three things in mind,
1- frustrate Bud and mount your offensive.
2- A jab is the beginning of an offensive.
3- Spence will be vulnerable to Bud power early on, after round 4, and a frustrated Bud, he may have a chance
I meant to write that “We know that Spence can not handle Bud’s power.”
Tai, I will say this about the right jab from Spence. He needs to work in two things: (1) Vary the type of jab (flick, power, stick head/body) he uses throughout the fight and (2) double and triple from time to time. He can’t do (2) too often though because Crawford is a great counterpuncher. Punching off head and upper body movement is the main key. That will involve lead hooks, lead back hands, even lead uppercuts. But yes, definitely use the jab and use it often.
Hello Jody,
I concur
Jody…you nailed it….Crawford strength is also his greatest weakness….Crawford has superior vision … constantly keeping his eyes on his opponent at all times…. especially on the inside…which is difficult cto do….Crawford excels at this….a combination of jabs can be disruptive for that type of fighter…mixing it up .., definitely no less than a double jab…..key to disrupt ing Crawford style
Crawford beat Spencer at any weighdivision Spencer pick up
May as well get this out of the way sooner rather than later
I’d try and talk Spence into waiting for the rematch. Go up to 54 and test waters against a descent top 10-15 kinda guy. He may need to go to 60. This gives him time to refine and make changes needed to have a better chance in the rematch. This immediate rematch at 54 is gonna be a disaster. For Crawford, he gets to test the waters at 54 and set the table to fight Charlo at 60 (cause I doubt he’ll come back down to 54 after Canelo smokes him at 68).
It will be a completely different fight; in search of redemption, Spence will perform better, and the approach to the fight or game plan is most likely
what could lead him to win the fight, or at least make it more competitive. He fought with desperation from the beginning, thinking to get Crawford cold; he was wrong, and when he realized that it was too late. This time he is going to be fighting from a distance using his vast array of skills and avoiding any slugfests with a tighter defense, resulting in a more cerebral fight.
He knows himself better than I but seems like a bad idea (less looking to cash out/retire early). Should take a tune-up, confidence builder before attempting what we don’t see a different result. Would def prefer to see Crawford-Canelo. Maybe if that’s a reality looking for step aside/postpone $?
kind of reminds me of when shane mosley suffered his first pro defeat to the late vernon forrest. he didn’t get beat as bad as spence, but he got dropped a couple of times and lost a lopsided decision. he did the rematch without any fights in between and lost. this rematch obviously hasn’t happened, but i can’t see what spence can do to produce a different outcome. he was not able to punch with crawford at all. crawford led when he wanted to, and countered when he wanted to, and was hurting spence with every type of punch on all levels, and from every angle.
Be careful what you wish for, Spence will look like the dog that caught the car. The second mouse gets the cheese except it in this case.
I have a feeling that Spence was weight drained as he couldn’t even push Crawford backwards.
With that said, I don’t see him making 147 any other way now. So the rematch will have to be 150+.
I don’t think Spence can win, but at the higher weight he would have better chance than he does at 147.
Starving to make weight eventually catches up with you.
Spence in it for the pay-day.
Very unlikely, while he has a rematch clause, someone has to pay for it. No one is gonna spend any real money to see that fight again.
This fight makes sense at 147 but not 154.
A dose of reality for Crawford after all that nonsense talk about fighting Canelo.!!
Remember way back when all agreed that Fury v Wilder 3 was a complete waste and not worth watching? Glad I watched…
Not the same. We didn’t see a competitive fight. Fury vs Wilder, they were both down and competitive even though Fury looked the stronger of the two.
Other than financial gain I don’t see Spence winning this bout of he does not recover quickly physically and mentally in 3 months, It might be a worse night than the first bout
proving he is not that smart…boxing is about intelligence…the smarter fighter generally wins. His hesitancy and his face and body being crushed will make him blink and be taken out in 2 rounds.
No need for a rematch, for what? It was truly a mismatch. There’s nothing Spece can improve on this late. He’s never shown a different style or had to change strategy. All he did was try harder the same way he fought before and failed. He should move on. The only thing he can get is another great paycheck.
People just want to see someone die in the ring that’s horrible and Spence so called trainers and advisers should be honest with him and say don’t do do it but money always rule
I’d love to seen him make it a trilogy.
I have no interest in this rematch and I certainly don’t think it’s PPV-worthy. I’ll watch this fight on regular Showtime Boxing and save my money for a better matched fight.
Can’t think of a more hungry fighter than Tszyu. Seems a little disrespectful he’s only thought of as a tune up. Dude has plenty of holes in his game, but you can never underestimate the kind of pedigree and determination and explosiveness that kind of fighter brings.
Probably doing it to receive step-aside money…There’s no way Spence wants what he got last time again.
Spence, like many young fighters today, only chasing the money. This is a nightmare matchup for him and the result will be the same.