WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford is preparing to make his 2021 debut in the fall, according to a report.
Dan Rafael tweeted Tuesday that Crawford is set to return to the ring in late October, although no opponent has be named. Rafael named Top Rank boss Bob Arum as his source for the news.
"Promoter Bob Arum tells me that Terence Crawford's next fight will will will be Oct. 23 on ESPN," Rafael tweeted. "No opponent set just yet but said the Top Rank Boxing team is working on it."
Arum had previously listed Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez and Jose Zepeda as potential opponents for Crawford, whose last bout was a successful title defence against Kell Brook on Nov. 14, 2020.
Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) has long been the target of WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., who has been looking to take on the Nebraska native for quite some time. Spence faces Manny Pacquaio on August 21, and if successful he said last week that he hopes to step into the ring with Crawford.
However, Tuesday's report likely means that a potential Spence-Crawford bout would have to wait until 2022 at the earliest.