Errol Spence confident Terence Crawford fight happening soon

Errol Spence Jr., center, celebrates his victory over Shawn Porter during the WBC & IBF World Welterweight Championship boxing match, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Fight fans have been licking their chops in anticipation of a potential showdown between undefeated welterweights Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.

The long wait may be over soon after Spence set a timetable as early as before the year ends.

“[That fight can happen] whenever, this year or next. We are going to fight. If we do not fight this year, it will definitely be next year,” Spence told FightHype.com.

The 30-year-old Spence edged Shawn Porter to unify the IBF and WBC titles.

Spence (26-0, with 21 knockouts) was scheduled to fight Danny Garcia next in January 2020 but the plan got derailed after he got into a drunk-driving car crash a month after his split decision victory over Porter.

Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs), on the other hand, scored a ninth round stoppage of Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas to retain the WBO belt last December at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Aside from the possible clash with Crawford, Spence has also been rumored for a megafight with WBA (Super) champion Manny Pacquiao.