Crawford Questions Why Spence Ducked the Rematch He Contractually Owned

Terence Crawford has a simple question for Errol Spence Jr: if you weren't at your best in 2023, why not use the rematch clause you actually had? Crawford walked away from the sport in December 2025 with a spotless 42-0 record, 31 of those by knockout, and a résumé that includes undisputed titles in three separate divisions. Spence, by contrast, hasn't fought since Crawford broke him down over nine rounds three years ago.

That fight was as one-sided as they come. Crawford dropped 'The Truth' repeatedly before forcing a ninth-round stoppage to unify the welterweight belts, and almost nobody clamored for a sequel afterward. Spence did — on paper. He activated his rematch clause, then vanished for three years, eventually undergoing cataract surgery and never stepping back through the ropes to run it back.

The Excuses Don't Add Up

Speaking on All The Smoke Fight, Crawford said he can't square Spence's recent explanations with how the fight actually played out. Spence has partly pinned his loss on a disastrous training camp, but Crawford pointed out that his rival fought the way he always fights, and that the excuses only surfaced years later rather than in the immediate aftermath.

Crawford's logic cuts to the bone. He said that if he ever suspected he wasn't fit to compete, he simply wouldn't take the fight — the idea of walking into a ring unprepared is foreign to him. And since a rematch clause was already sitting in the contract, the obvious move, in his view, was to sign up and do it again rather than sit on grievances.

Diverging Legacies

The context makes the retirement all the sweeter for Crawford. His final act was outpointing Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision last September, dethroning the Mexican star at super middleweight in a performance convincing enough that a rematch felt pointless despite the noise around one. Canelo, now 63-2-2 with 39 knockouts, remains a top contender and is lined up for a September card in Las Vegas against an opponent still to be named.

Spence, meanwhile, finally returns this weekend — not against Crawford, and not at welterweight. He faces fellow former world champion Tim Tszyu at 160lbs inside Sydney's Afterpay Arena, a big jump in weight and a hard reintroduction after three years away.

It's a telling matchup. Crawford exits undefeated and unbothered, his legacy sealed as a Hall of Fame lock. Spence is left trying to rebuild against a live opponent at a weight two divisions north of where the two men shared a ring. Whatever the excuses, the scoreboard from 2023 never changed — and now it never will.