Bob Arum believes ‘piracy’ is affecting Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr., advises how PBC can solve the problem
Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. are in the perfect position to stage an undisputed welterweight title showdown that may go down as one of the most iconic matchups in the sport. The undefeated 147-pounders have been teasing a potential fight for several years. However, the fight never materialized.
While Crawford has left Top Rank and is now working as a free agent, PBC can rope him in by offering ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr.
‘Bud’ Crawford’s former promoter Bob Arum recently joined FightHype to talk about the matchup. Arum pointed out the factors that have blocked the fight from happening and how PBC can solve those issues. He said:
“It [Crawford vs. Spence] has tremendous interest from people who follow boxing but that doesn’t necessarily translate into revenue from pay-per-view which is the biggest source. Because of the piracy and the fighters realize how big of a fight it is and they want to get paid big amounts of money and the promoter.” In this case, PBC has to look at it and say, "Hey, we will put it on. We will give out nice guarantees but you have gotta really live from the upside.”
Watch Crawford vs Porter full fight below:
After stopping Shawn Porter, Terence Crawford ridiculed Bob Arum for failing to offer him the Errol Spence Jr. fight. Spence Jr. had already added the WBA belt to his WBC and IBF straps by beating Yordenis Ugas by then.
There is no looming unsolvable problem that should stop the undisputed welterweight title fight from happening. However, both sides need to come to terms to settle the PPV shares.
How much did Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. make in their last fights?
Crawford became the first and only man to knockout Shawn Porter in November 2021 in a successful WBO title defense. It was the champion’s last fight under the Top Rank banner. According to reports, Crawford earned over $6 million from the matchup.
As a free agent, Terence Crawford can work with any promoter. That said, none of the fights would fetch him a bigger payday than a clash against Errol Spence Jr. The same goes for ‘The Truth,’ who seemingly made a lesser figure than Terence Crawford in his last appearance.
Following a career-defining win over Manny Pacquiao, Yordenis Ugas came across a tough reality when he fought Errol Spence Jr. in August 2021. ‘The Truth’ dominated Ugas for all of 12-rounds and picked up a comfortable win on the scorecards.
Watch Spence Jr. pick apart Ugas below:
Moreover, it was a million-dollar payday for Spence, who seemingly bagged $5 million from the PBC headliner. Even though Spence Jr. has been injury-prone in the past few years, he is at his best right now. Consequently, this is the perfect time to put him up against ‘Bud.'