Errol Spence Jr. fights Carlos Ocampo first but looks forward to future bout with Terence Crawford
For Errol Spence Jr., the opponent signifies just another routine title defense, but the site suggests anything but.
It’s a homecoming for “The Truth,” and he’ll play to a crowd of over 14,000 on Saturday at The Star in Frisco, Texas, when he fights mandatory challenge Carlos Ocampo near his hometown of Desoto, Texas.
The fast-selling tickets for the Showtime-televised main event is proof that Spence, THE RING’s, No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter, has developed into a bona fide attraction in Dallas.
If Ocampo is being overlooked for his lack of resume and pedigree, there’s plenty of buzz surrounding a potential future bout between Spence and Terence Crawford.
Crawford made his welterweight debut Saturday and absolutely picked apart Jeff Horn en route to a ninth-round stoppage. Crawford picked up a welterweight title and now that’s he’s at 147 pounds, there’s only one fight that really matters in the weight class.
“I think there is definitely a future fight [against Crawford],” said Spence (23-0, 20 knockouts), THE RING’s No. 2 welterweight. “He holds one of the belts and like I said, I want to be undefeated welterweight champion of the world so I’m going to have to come over there and snatch the belt from him. It’s a fight that’s going to happen definitely in the future.”
Before Spence-Crawford can happen — and it’s no doubt a super fight if and when it does — the 28-year-old puts his title on the line against Ocampo, an undefeated fighter from Mexico. Ocampo faces long odds to trouble Crawford, much less upset him. The 22-year-old’s resume is paper-thin, and it’s a mystery why he’s the IBF’s top welterweight contender in the first place.
But Spence clearly isn’t taking him lightly. He showed off an incredible physique at Friday’s weigh-in. Once he gets past Ocampo, Spence is being lined up for a title unification showdown with the winner of Danny Garcia-Shawn Porter, which could take place on Aug. 25. That means Spence could return in December, or maybe he’ll be on the shelf until next year.
After that, a fight with Keith Thurman would make sense before Spence arrives at one of the biggest fight that could materialize in boxing.
“I just think business-wise it has to make sense,” Crawford said, via ESPN. “Al [Haymon] isn’t going to send his fighters to ESPN if it doesn’t make sense, and Bob [Arum] isn’t going to send me to Showtime if it doesn’t make sense. If the fight makes sense, the fight will happen.
“I’ve already fought two Al Haymon fighters, so I don’t think that will stop a fight from getting done. … It’s boxing, so anything can happen. A lot people are leaning towards me and Errol Spence, but we never know what tomorrow holds.”