It's finally happening.
Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford officially struck an agreement on the superfight that boxing fans have been desperate to see. They will square off on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger.
The two men are among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
RingTV.com's Anson Wainwright reported on April 4 that a tentative compromise was made on a fight for June 17. But longtime boxing insider Dan Rafael said a deal was "not close" and that a June date probably wasn't happening even if things got across the finish line.
Crawford is unbeaten in 39 fights with 30 knockouts. He scored a sixth-round knockout of David Avanesyan when he last stepped into the ring last December. It was his sixth straight successful WBO welterweight title defense.
Spence is also unbeaten at 28-0 with 22 knockouts. His last bout was a 10th-round TKO of Yordenis Ugás in April 2022.
The lengthy saga leading up to Tuesday's announcement symbolizes a longstanding issue within boxing. Without one governing body overseeing the sport, it's all too easy for backstage politics and posturing to get in the way of the most obvious matchups, ones fans would pay big money to see.
Crawford vs. Spence was only the most recent example, and the protracted negotiations inevitably sparked finger-pointing between the pair.
Crawford said in November he reached out directly to the 33-year-old and his manager, Al Haymon, to reach a resolution. He claimed he was "taking all the risks" and was willing to take less money, but Spence's camp failed to provide enough transparency to assuage his remaining concerns.
That prompted a response from Spence:
Errol Spence @ErrolSpenceJrHe claims that his concerns over having transparency on the revenues and expenses for the fight was the big issue that killed the negotiations. 🧢 my side agreed to show him everything
Errol Spence @ErrolSpenceJrThe draft included specific provisions that required that both of us would receive "a complete and full" "written detailed accounting" showing all "pay-per-view sales of the Event and the then status of all Net Revenues received and all Event Expenses incurred and paid.
Errol Spence @ErrolSpenceJrHe talking about he didn't have a guarantee & he was taking all the risk mf I didn't have a guarantee just a higher percentage !
Crawford countered back in short order:
Terence Crawford @terencecrawfordIf he was so called his own boss then why I had to talk to Al? 😭😭😭 that's right I couldn't talk to you because when I did you said you had to talk to yo people. You can fool all yo little fans that don't know who you really is but you can't fool me <a href="">@ErrolSpenceJr</a> 😁
Errol Spence @ErrolSpenceJrYou cappin again not sept It was October 2nd I went for my oldest birthday.. he was dragging cause you had the bfl ppv you was talking to lol <a href="">
A few weeks later, Crawford, 35, addressed the situation again in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting):
"I just blame the business of boxing. I don't blame myself for [even] one portion of the fight not being made. ... I felt like I agreed to everything that I needed to agree to. I feel like I've done everything I'm supposed to do as an independent fighter to get that fight made. But there's only so much I can do."
Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole was damning of the whole thing, arguing that it "makes the sport look ridiculous and decidedly low rent."
Sooner or later, you had to assume there was so much money on offer for Crawford and Spence that they couldn't not do this.
This will not only be the most anticipated boxing event of the year, but it could also help to define the respective stars' legacies.
