Though Alexis Rocha was ordered to fight WBO Welterweight champion Terence Crawford, the American fighter is now headed to a different direction according to recent reports. With Rocha apparently moving on from the Crawford fight to fight American Welterweight Anthony Young, speculation now hangs in the air as to who Crawford will fight next, and what the WBO’s next move will be.
The WBO ordered Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KO’s) and Alexis Rocha (22-1, 14 KO’s) to negotiate a fight late in February, but the two sides failed to apparently reach an agreement. Though the fight was expected to go to purse bids after the deadline for the initial negotiations had passed, no announcement was forthcoming. With the news that Alexis Rocha is moving on to fight another Welterweight in Anthony ‘Juice’ Young (24-2, 8 KO’s), Terence Crawford would otherwise have been stripped for not fighting his mandated opponent.
The fact the former Junior Welterweight/Super Lightweight world champion has not needed to relinquish his WBO title breeds further speculation that he might be negotiating with Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KO’s) for an undisputed fight ― as only a unified or undisputed bout could supplant the mandate of a governing body such as the WBO.
Though rumors had been flying around of the two Welterweight champions facing each other in the ring come June or July, only now do the reports make sense with Rocha’s new choice of an opponent, and Terence Crawford still having possession of his WBO title.
Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford has been a match-up that was expected for years, but especially after the former unified all three titles of the WBA, WBC and IBF last year in April after defeating Cuban contender Yordenis Ugas (27-5, 12 KO’s) ― and former holder of the WBA title ― by technical knockout.
With Crawford in possession of the WBO title at 147 lbs, a clash between the two would see an opportunity for either of them to become the first undisputed champion in the current four-belt era. Their match would further become one of the most eye-catching fights of the past decade (or even two) given the skills and stature of both fighters who have achieved great things in the sport of boxing.
Though Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford has often been criticized for not fighting the best opponents ― most recently by undisputed Super Welterweight champion Jermell Charlo, the 35-year old fighter has recorded a notable stoppage/knockout streak over top Welterweights in his division. After completing a successful stint at 140 lbs ― during which he became undisputed, Crawford kickstarted the first inkling of a fight with Errol Spence Jr. after disposing of then-WBO champion Jeff Horn in devastating fashion in 2018.
Errol Spence Jr., 33, has been a Welterweight for virtually his entire career, and became a world champion in 2017 while five years into his career as a professional boxer. After defeating Kell Brook to take his IBF title, Spence continued to make waves in the division with his title defenses and in 2020 he unified for the first time against former WBC champion, Danny Garcia (37-3, 21 KO’s). He would go on to be out of the ring for nearly two years afterwards; a hiatus which is attributed to an eye injury that was discovered after a medical checkup, unrelated to the DWI/DUI accident that he had suffered in 2019 prior to facing Garcia.
With the two top Welterweights ― who are both ranked as pound-for-pound fighters ― currently without any opponents to face currently ― despite Errol Spence Jr. having been rumored to face Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 KO’s), there is an actual chance that negotiations between the two are more than just phone conversations as had been reported roughly a month ago given recent events and the unlikelihood of Terence Crawford keeping his title after a mandate ― unless he was actively in talks to unify with Errol Spence Jr.
