Errol Spence Jr. is currently fully focused on facing Terence Crawford on July 29 for the undisputed welterweight title.
A rematch clause will likely be exercised by the loser, and a sequel should ensue soon after, but once Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) finishes business with Bud, momentum will increasingly build toward a potential showdown with Canelo Alvarez.
Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) signed a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions last month. Alvarez’s first fight as part of the pact will feature an all-undisputed bout at 168 pounds against current 154-pound king Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs).
Spence said he’s open to jumping up several weight divisions just like his stablemate Charlo for a shot at Alvarez.
“[A fight against Alvarez] sounds good, but I mean, [Alvarez has] a three-fight deal [with Premier Boxing Champions]. So, I don’t know who it could be in that deal,” Spence told Sean Zittel in an interview on FightHype.com.
“It could be [David] Benavidez, then Jermall [Charlo], and whoever else. He and [PBC head] Al [Haymon] and whoever he did the deal with – they probably already got the names picked out. It’s already pre-written. I have no idea. I get people’s speculation, but at the end of the day, it’s nothing but speculation.
“Yeah, I might [jump up the weight classes]. It’s something that I would definitely think about, but I’m focused on the task at hand [against Crawford], and I want to get a belt at 154 pounds, too. It could happen; I don’t see why not. But it’s something I’m definitely not worried about if it happens. If it happens, it’s something it happens. If it don’t, I ain’t chasing nobody or trying to make that fight happen.”
In June, Spence said that he would definitely take the Alvarez fight it was presented to him, and that 165 to 168 pounds is his natural weight.
Alvarez was presented with a Spence fight at a 164-pound catchweight last year and a $50 million purse as part of a two-fight package that would first begin with a bout against Jermall Charlo for $45 million, but the Mexican star ended up fighting and losing to Dmitry Bivol.
If a fight would take place between the southpaw Spence and Alvarez, Spence would sport both a near two-inch height and reach advantage.
The 33-year-old Spence is four months older than Alvarez but has less mileage in the ring, have fought 142 professional rounds compared to 472 from the four-division champion Alvarez.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.