According to ESPN sources, Errol Spence and Keith Thurman are currently in the process of finalizing a deal for a PBC on PPV fight, anticipated to occur in April.

WBA president Gilberto Mendoza informed ESPN that he provided Spence with a unique authorization to compete in a weight class different from his 147-pound title, while still holding the IBF and WBC belts. Insider reports indicate that Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) currently possesses three out of the four primary championships in the welterweight division, but this particular bout will occur in the junior middleweight category.

Looking ahead, Spence may also choose to campaign in the 154-pound weight class. If not, Spence must defend his 147-pound title against the victor of the delayed WBA “regular” title fight involving Vergil Ortiz Jr. And Eimantas Stanionis. They were in discussions last year. Mendoza mentioned that Spence will have a 60-day period after the fight to finalize an agreement for a highly anticipated welterweight championship match against Terence Crawford, aiming for undisputed status.

Selected Favorites

Derrick James, the trainer who shares the undisputed champion title with Spence, has a short recognition outside the middleweight division in the name of junior Charlo Jermell.

In October 2019, Spence was admitted to the hospital due to a severe car accident. It was his second bout following that incident, and his first after going through an operation to fix a detached retina. Spence claimed another championship in the 147-pound category while also causing Ugas to fracture his orbital bone in a ninth-round TKO triumph over him in April. Spence, who is ranked fourth in ESPN’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings, has not participated in any matches since then.

Spence hinted that he would return in April, as stated in his tweet on December 30th. He later said that he suffered a leg injury. Spence was involved in another accident in the Dallas area when his SUV was hit head-on by an underage, unlicensed driver who ran a red light.

Spence recently tweeted that he would never fight Thurman because years ago the veteran boxer never got the opportunity to compete for a shot at the title. Spence emphasized in April that he wouldn’t even mention Thurman’s name when they were both champions, stating, “I’m not fighting Thurman, that man.”

In the 2012 Olympics, Spence competed in the 152-pound weight category and made his professional debut weighing 149 pounds later that year. In 2015, Spence achieved an eight-round stoppage victory over Chris van Heerden, weighing 156.5 pounds before he secured his first world championship.

In the year 2017, he seized the IBF welterweight title by knocking out Kell Brook in the 11th round and has successfully defended it six times. Weighing in at 147 pounds, he currently holds the position of ESPN’s second-ranked boxer.

In July 2019, Thurman experienced a split-decision defeat against Manny Pacquiao. The fight marked Thurman’s initial match since he concluded a 31-month break in February, securing a unanimous-decision triumph over Mario Barrios. The 34-year-old from Clearwater, Florida, is currently ranked as the seventh-best welterweight by ESPN.

In 2017, Thurman achieved five triumphant safeguards of his welterweight championship, including a consolidation triumph against Danny Garcia. Thurman also possesses a verdict triumph over Shawn Porter. (Spence similarly conquered Garcia and Porter.)

Thurman has been a welterweight throughout his career, but he also participated in the U.S. Olympic trials at the 152-pound weight class.