sport news Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr must happen NEXT or it never will trends now
Boxing history is littered with fights that happened years too late.
Kell Brook's grudge-match victory over Amir Khan, Lennox Lewis' iconic eighth-round knockout win against Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather's points victory over Manny Pacquiao just to name a few.
Now, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr are on the precipice of another potentially timeless classic, but this time an opportunity to battle for eternal glory will not wait around.
Terence Crawford (L) and Errol Spence Jr (R) are on the verge of an historic undisputed fight
A potential match-up between the American duo has been on many a boxing wish list for a number of years, ever since Crawford - previously the undisputed super-lightweight champion and then-two-weight titleholder - made the move up to welterweight.
The Omaha star immediately set the 147lb division on high alert as he dismantled an unbeaten Jeff Horn to claim the WBO strap the Aussie had won with victory over Manny Pacquiao only two fights prior.
Spence Jr then held only the IBF belt: a title he won by stopping Kell Brook in 2018. The 32-year-old has since defended that belt six times - as well as adding two more -but was also out for 14 months after a horrifying car crash left him fighting for his life, just days after winning the WBC title.
Having recovered, Spence Jr also missed out on the opportunity to fight Manny Pacquaio in 2021 after requiring surgery on a torn retina. But now, after the American returned to defeat Yodenis Ugas and claim his WBA belt, all four welterweight titles shared between the pair.
There has never, and will never, be a better time to stage the fight.
Crawford put the welterweight division on high alert as he toppled Jeff Horn back in 2018
The unbeaten 34-year-old has since made five successful defences of the WBO belt he claimed
Spence Jr holds the WBC, WBA and IBF titles having beaten Yordenis Ugas earlier in the year
In what was music to the ears of boxing fans worldwide, ESPN's Mike Coppinger in June reported that the welterweight pair are finally closing in on a match-up, claiming the bout will take place in Las Vegas in November.
Crawford had earlier in the year rid himself of a prevalent hurdle as he left Top Rank, leaving him free to fight on Spence Jr's PBC, who are notoriously tricky customers when it comes to doing business with rival promoters. Essentially, there is now nothing in the way of an undisputed showdown.
Yet, the fight still hasn't been announced, and things can change very quickly in boxing; just cast your mind back to last summer when we all thought Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury were set to collide in an historic double-header.
For both fighters, though, this fight simply has to happen next, and soon.
First, there is the small matter of boxing's pound-for-pound list to decide. An arbitrary and largely subjective inventory, yes, but a big deal in combat sports nonetheless. And with Canelo Alvarez falling to a painful defeat to Dmitry Bivol last time out, the No 1 spot is now up for grabs.
Few would argue if Oleksandr Usyk currently topped your list, similarly but perhaps slightly less so with Naoya
