Stephen Espinoza on Spence-Crawford talks: “I’m still optimistic it’s done”

By: Sean Crose

“I don’t think it’s dead or near dead,” said Showtime’s Honcho Stephen Espinoza Against the hype about negotiations for a superweight match against Terence Crawford-Errol Spence. “There was a bit of a deadlock,” he admitted in the interview, “but I don’t think anyone is willing to give up, at least among all the two fighters.” The fact that both WBO champion Crawford and WBC, IBF and WBA champion Spence wanted the match to go ahead was a relief to fans who had been waiting for this showdown for so long. “There was some slow progress,” admits Espinoza FightHype“But discussions are still going on.”

As a Showtime employee who will most likely be the force behind the pay-per-view in the Spence-Crawford fight, Espinoza made it clear he has to stay tight-lipped about the issues. “I wish I could share more,” he says, “because I know a lot of people care, but I don’t want to be the one to blow it up.”

Considering this match has been desired by fans for a long time and a day, it’s understandable that everyone will feel frustrated and the extremely slow pace of things. However, Espinoza still showed confidence in the interview. “I remain optimistic that it will be completed,” he said. “I still think it’s very, very possible to do it this year.” Espinoza continues to announce FightHype Crawford-Spence is a fight worth mulling over. “We’re going to keep trying to create that,” he said. “If it dies, we will try to revive it… both warriors are one hundred percent convinced that this is a meaningful fight.”

The weight division is by far one of the toughest in the sport, with the likes of Leonard, Duran, Hearns, De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pacquiao and others dominating the year. past ten years. A showdown between Spence and Crawford, both undefeated, would show that there is a certain weight king of this era, like Mayweather of the most recent era, and Oscar De La Hoya the one before it. .

However, modern boxing can be incredibly complicated and frustrating. For example, Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao was a weight class fight that was considered to have gone downhill years after the date of the semi-final. Hopefully the same won’t happen with the Division’s current top duo. The boxers, the fans and the sport itself deserve much better.