Spence Promises “All-Out War” Against Alvarez At 160 But Canelo Wants 168 Titles Instead

Can one of the most improbable match-ups and mouthwatering fights be spoken into existence?

Errol Spence Jr. was ringside scouting Canelo Alvarez in person Saturday in San Antonio and saw first hand how the Mexican superstar stopped Callum Smith in a unanimous decision victory.

Before the fight, Spence stepped aside from the spectacle and talked with DAZN commentator Chris Mannix, doubling down on recent statements that he’d entertain the idea of a fight with Alvarez.

“I think it’s a great fight, especially at 160. It would be an all-out war. Have it at AT&T Stadium [in Dallas] with 100,000 plus fans,” said Spence. “I’m a guy that sucks down to get to 147. I want to be the undisputed champion at welterweight. But if there is a great fight at 160, I can definitely move up to 160 and fight there easily.”

A pitting between two of the top pound for pound fighters will require the welterweight Spence to step up two weight divisions to meet Alvarez at middleweight, while Alvarez will have to step down from 168, the new division he plans on conquering.

“I saw him. I’m very grateful that he was here, but the reality is that we have other goals right now with the 168-pound titles,” Alvarez said after the fight.

Super middleweight is clearly the immediate plan for Alvarez, who has wavered over the last year whether or not he has any future plans at 160.

Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn, who was the promoter of record for Alvarez’s first fight in the post-Golden Boy era, chimed in with his thoughts on the potential fight between Alvarez and Spence.

“That’s a tremendous fight. Errol Spence is a big welterweight. The problem there is that you’ll see Errol move to 154, maybe in the next 12 months,” Hearn said following Alvarez’s unanimous decision win over Smith.

“Sometimes you need to fight with a name like that to make a payday that doesn’t exist outside of the usual channels. You’re going to have to do something a little bit crazy. For Spence to fight Alvarez, it’s the only way in my opinion that he’s going to make that kind of money. He’s not going to make it against Terence Crawford.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com