Phone a foe: Crawford, Spence keep fight from slipping away, set up boxing blockbuster

By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Terence Crawford has been asked for years when he would fight Errol Spence Jr. A match between the undefeated fighters would make the winner the undisputed welterweight champion and give him a claim as the best in the sport, so it was one of the biggest bouts that could be made. But for years, their rival promotional companies couldn’t make a deal. So Crawford and Spence began to talk to each other about what it would take, leading to a blockbuster on July 29 in Las Vegas.