Terence Crawford was among the most interested observers for Errol Spence Jr’s latest win and for good reason.

The three-division and long-reigning WBO welterweight titlist live tweeted throughout Spence’s sensational tenth-round, technical knockout of Yordenis Ugas to unify the WBA/WBC/IBF titles. Spence overcame a couple of rocky moments to shut down Ugas’ offense and leave the Cuban’s right eye swollen to the point of forcing referee Laurence Cole to stop the Showtime Pay-Per-View main event Saturday evening at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Spence (28-0, 22KOs) picked up his first stoppage win in nearly four years, while claiming his third belt in the process. The fourth and last remaining belt can be put into play if the unbeaten Texan opts to look that way.

“Congratulations, great fight,” Crawford tweeted immediately after Spence’s win. “[K]eep my belts warm, I’ll be coming to grab ‘em later this year.”

The pair of pound-for-pound entrants have been circling one another seemingly since Crawford (38-0, 29KOs) first arrived on the welterweight scene. The unbeaten switch hitter moved up in 2018, dismantling unbeaten Jeff Horn inside of nine rounds to win the WBO belt, though the closest he and Spence came to an actual fight was their intense discussion moments after the conclusion of a November 2018 ESPN show in Oklahoma City.

Spence has registered six successful title defenses, two of which came in unification bouts. The win over Ugas (27-5, 12KOs) marked his third over a reigning titlist, coming 31 months after his thrilling split decision victory over Shawn Porter to unify the WBC/IBF belts in September 2019. Spence won the IBF belt in an eleventh-round knockout of England’s Kell Brook in May 2017 on the road in Sheffield.

Crawford has defended the WBO belt five times, including a tenth-round stoppage of Porter last November. The fight was his last under contract with Top Rank, whom Crawford has filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and—though not in a formal count—racial discrimination. The years-long alignment with Top Rank was among the excuses from the other side to block such a fight, as Spence is a centerpiece attraction for Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).

With Crawford now a free agent, one less roadblock stands in the way of crowning the first-ever undisputed welterweight champion in the four-belt era.

“[N]ow the real fight happens,” insists Crawford, who presently does not have a fight scheduled. “No more talk, no more side of the street. [L]et’s go.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox