Spence

By Norm Frauenheim –

Errol Spence calls it the strap season. Maybe, it is. Suddenly, title belts count for something more than just another sanctioning fee. These days, they even count as a new chapter.

It’s called the four-belt era. It’s a crowded one, a chapter that looks a little bit like a messy closet full of belts, one indistinguishable from the other.

WBC or WBA or IBF or WBO, it’s hard to know – or care — about the difference between the acronyms, which is reason enough to just hang them all on to one rhetorical hook.

That’s why there’s a strap season in Spence’s closet. He’s has questioned their value. Yet, their significance is there, perhaps now more than ever for his long-awaited welterweight showdown with Terence Crawford July 29 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena in a Showtime pay-per-view bout.

It’s a chance to win all four for the first time in the fabled history of the 147-pound division. Maybe, just that will add some clarity to boxing messy proliferation of belts and weight classes during an era when there are almost more of both than there are prize fighters.

Then again, clarity in boxing is another way of saying clear as mud. There will be five-belt, six- belt and 12-belt eras if people keep paying the fees.

But Spence’s strap season is a pragmatic summation of an ever-chaotic game. Spence has long pursued legacy, despite the outrage last fall over news that talks with Crawford had failed.

“This is what I’ve always wanted,’’ he said Thursday before a media workout in Las Vegas. “It’s the only fight I’ve ever wanted.’’

I can confirm that. Four years ago – almost to the day, Spence appeared at a news conference with Shawn Porter before Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Keith Thurman at Vegas’ MGM Grand in July 2019.

After the newser, I saw Spence, standing alone behind a makeshift stage. I asked him about Crawford. He told me then that Crawford was the fight he wanted.

He promised it would happen.

Promise delivered.

But the path to that long-envisioned fight hasn’t been easy. Instead, there were times when it looked as if it just wouldn’t happen. There was Spence’s scary auto accident in Dallas in October 2019, not long after his narrow scorecard victory over Porter in Los Angeles.

He was out of the ring for more than a year. But, please, don’t say he was inactive, a word straight out of boxing’s fractured language. He was active all right, actively fighting for his life. Fourteen months later, he scored a unanimous decision over the accomplished Danny Garcia in front of a hometown crowd in Dallas.

Then, there was a date with Pacquiao in August 2021. But an eye injury forced him to withdraw. Spence was rushed into surgery for a torn retina in his left eye within two weeks of opening bell. His chance at adding a victory over one of history’s legends was denied. Late stand-in Yordenis Ugas went on to upset Pacquiao. Spence was left with only more questions

Still, he continued to pursue what he had envisioned. He beat Ugas, scoring a 10th-round TKO for a third strap In April 2022. In retrospect, that was the strap that made the date with Crawford inevitable.

Crawford, too, is hunting straps. If he takes Spence’s three and adds them to his own, he’ll set some four-belt history. Crawford would become the first to win undisputed titles in two divisions. He was a four-belt champion at junior-welterweight.

“This fight is happening at the right time,’’ Crawford said at his media workout Wednesday, also in Vegas. “All the belts are on the line, so there’s even more to fight for. What better way to have this fight than to have it for the undisputed welterweight title?”

Crawford has been a slight favorite ever since the fight was announced. His quicksilver versatility, speed and ring IQ are just three reasons. Another reason, however, is the simple fact that Spence has answered only two opening bells – Garcia and Ugas — since the auto accident.

Spence trainer Derrick James was asked Thursday whether he was concerned about ring rust.

“He’s been training,’’ James said. “in between, he’s been sparring. In the fight itself, he’ll have to adjust to Terence’s speed. But that’ll happen over a few rounds.’’

There’s a theory that Spence might be able to break down Crawford with prolonged pressure. He’s bigger than Crawford. Presumably, he’s stronger, too. But there’s more.

A few weeks ago, there was a virtual media session with Porter, former welterweight champion Kell Brook and two respected trainers, Virgil Hunter and Stephen “Breadman’’ Edwards.

Spence’s auto accident was part of the discussion. Has he completely recovered? Are there lingering affects?

The insightful Edwards had his own take. He said he believed Spence had learned from the accident. He said he might be better because of it.

On July 29, Spence might prove to be the survivor.

Only a survivor figures to win this one, one of the best welterweight fights in any season.