Former unified welterweight champion, Errol Spence Jr, was on the wrong side of one of the performances of the year when he lost his belts to Terence Crawford.
Now, his defeat to the potential pound-for-pound number one has had a big impact on his rankings with each of the sanctioning bodies.
Spence was stopped in the ninth-round of the all-American showdown with his long-term rival, arguably losing every round of the clash. As a result, his WBA, WBC and IBF titles were taken from him, as well as his undefeated record.
In the latest rankings update, the WBC has added to the whispers of a move up in weight, removing Spence from its welterweight rankings and placing him at #3 on the super-welterweight ladder.
Meanwhile, the WBA makes the 33-year-old southpaw its #5 welterweight, the WBO have him at #4 and the IBF took him out of the top five to #6.
Of course, none of these rankings may matter to Spence, who has a contractual rematch with Crawford. He activated the clause for the second fight at the beginning of September, and it’s understood that conversations are ongoing.
Recent reports suggest the fight will take place in February of next year, but the weight is yet to be agreed.
Spence was clear in his hopes that it would be up at 154lbs during the post-fight press conference, but despite Crawford’s initial openness, the champion has since said that since nothing formal has been requested he expects it to be at 147 for the undisputed title.
Should it not come off for whatever reason, Spence is expected to move up in weight anyway, and is well-placed within the WBC rankings to do so.
