LAS VEGAS – Errol Spence Jr. is still hopeful that he’ll finally fight Terence Crawford at some point in 2023.

Spence’s return to the ring has been delayed by minor injuries sustained during another car accident December 10. The undefeated, unified welterweight champion plans to fight someone other than Crawford in “April, May or June,” which means his long-discussed showdown with Crawford couldn’t happen until sometime in the second half of next year.

His overall optimism aside, the 32-year-old Spence criticized Crawford for how he negotiated for his fight against David Avanesyan without telling Al Haymon, who was simultaneously dealing with Crawford on making a deal for the Spence bout. Not surprisingly, Spence also disagreed with Crawford’s contention that Crawford did everything possible to make sure the Spence fight would happen before he accepted BLK Prime’s offer to fight Avanesyan.

“Man, if he did everything he could to make the fight happen, the fight woulda happened, man,” Spence told Showtime’s Brian Custer during an interview that was conducted during the network’s telecast Saturday night from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “You know what I’m saying? But unfortunately, it didn’t. You know, and he went about it the wrong way. If he woulda just, you know, been on the up-and-up wit it, been like, ‘Hey, I’ve been talking to these guys. I’m fighting this guy for $10 million. It’s a easy fight. I’m gonna make this money right quick and I’ll be right back,’ we probably let him do it.

“I’m not hatin’. Get your money, man. But, you know, the way he went about it, and then, you know, trying to blame my side for, you know, messing up the negotiations, you know, I feel like that wasn’t right at all. So but, you know, hopefully, you know, I can spin that block again and, you know, we go to negotiations and try to fight because it’s a fight I really want. So, you know, hopefully we can make it happen next year.”

Crawford revealed after he accepted BLK Prime’s offer to fight Avanesyan that he had agreed to fight Spence for no guarantee. Whereas BLK Prime reportedly paid him an eight-figure purse, Crawford would’ve made all of his money from a Spence fight based on his percentage of the overall revenue generated from the event.

Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) knocked out Russia’s Avanesyan (29-4-1, 17 KOs) in the sixth round of a pay-per-view main event December 10 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford’s hometown. BLK Prime reportedly paid Crawford a $10 million guarantee for facing a huge underdog in what was BLK Prime’s first pay-per-view event.

The 35-year-old Crawford stated prior to his victory over Avanesyan that he was willing to resume negotiations with Haymon for the Spence fight. The 32-year-old Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) is expected to defend his IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight championships against longtime rival Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC) whenever he returns to the ring.

The injuries Spence suffered recently in a head-on collision caused by a 14-year-old boy who stole his parents’ car aren’t considered serious. He cannot currently train properly, however, which was why his first fight since he stopped Yordenis Ugas in the 10th round April 16 has been delayed.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.