According to Derek James, if Terrence Crawford is going to continue fighting Errol Spence Jr., he’s not doing it well.
James, the long-time trainer of WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight champion Spence, recently announced the undisputed welterweight showdown proposed between his boss and WBO titlelist Crawford. Crawford chose to fight David Avanesian instead, stopping the Russian within six rounds a few weeks ago at CHI Health Center in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Crawford-Avanesyan was streamed pay-per-view by BLK Prime, the Silicon Valley company that launched boxing in that fight. According to Crawford, he was paid his $10 million. That’s a lot of money given the make-up and profile of the opponent. It’s not clear what kind of purchase the fight garnered, but Crawford has historically not performed well at pay-per-view.
James feels it was a short-sighted move that only benefited Crawford at the expense of his promoter and did nothing to “build” a future fight with Spence.
“Being at this level and not fighting a true pay-per-view fight card and not really understanding the business side of it. I think building fights is what makes fights,” James said. I told Custer. The Last Stand Podcast. “So what happens when you see him get into this other fight and not build a fight. You don’t put millions in to lose millions, and I think that’s part of life that I really didn’t understand as a fighter, not as a businessman.
“From his uneducated perspective on what he thinks about boxing, he won the fight, but he was the only winner, not the promoter.”
Crawford said talks with Spence fell apart after Spence’s adviser, Premier Boxing Champions founder Al Haymon, refused to provide “transparency” on certain financial aspects. Stated. Otherwise, Crawford said he agreed to all other terms.
James said Crawford was unable to approach negotiations for Spence’s fight with the same degree of leverage as before, referring to the scuttlebutt suggesting that Crawford’s recent fight did not produce many purchases. Crawford has an exaggerated idea of his worth to Spence and their fight as a whole.
“At the same time, if he were to go into negotiations with that figure now, I don’t think you’d be able to get your foot in the door… ‘Yesterday’s fight isn’t today’s fight,'” James said. But today it’s a fact, you can’t come out in front of me talking about this and that, that’s what you’re doing, I don’t think it was necessary for him.
“You can go through life thinking that you are something special, and that is great because you believe that is who you are, right? , no, your [pay-per-view buys], whatever the number, I don’t really know what they were…that’s who you are now. So you can’t speak—no, no. I see who you are You can’t hide behind ESPN or Bob Arum’s machine… he’s alone and now something else entirely. “
When asked about his optimism about a potential fight between Spence and Crawford in 2023, James responded lukewarmly, pointing the finger at Crawford.
“I don’t know,” James said. “It might not happen. I think it might not happen because I remember his view of who he is [different] Those things don’t add up than what the numbers say. He shouldn’t think of himself at all. But really, you have to understand what the market is saying and when the market is saying no. “
Spence is next scheduled to face Keith Thurman, sometime in the first half of 2023.
