After landing in Australia, Spence was asked if he had a message for Tszyu. “I don’t have no message for [Tszyu]. I’m the big fish. I’m going to come take over his backyard.” Setting aside the question of what kind of walking fish Spence believes he is, there are many legitimate questions surrounding Spence as he returns to the ring.
Spence was a highly touted amateur boxer, and with good reason. In 2009, he won the United States National Golden Gloves tournament, and he captured the first of three consecutive national amateur welterweight championships. Spence represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympics and subsequently turned professional, having amassed a 135-12 record as an amateur.
Errol Spence Jr. made his pro debut on November 9th, 2012. Now in his fourteenth year as a professional, Spence once seemed well on his way to fulfilling the enormous expectations many in boxing circles had for his career, if not exceeding them. Halfway into his pro career, though, the Dallas native became snakebit by a combination of bad luck and bad decisions, leaving the accomplished 36-year-old needing to revive his career.
Spence’s decision to take on Tszyu in Australia is reminiscent of Spence’s first world title triumph. In May 2017, Spence traveled to Sheffield, England, the hometown of IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, and knocked out Brook in round eleven to disappoint the hometown crowd and win championship gold. Following that victory, Spence successfully defended the belt against Lamont Peterson, Carlos Ocampo, and Mikey Garcia. After defeating Shawn Porter in a unification fight, there seemed to be no stopping Errol Spence.
On the morning of October 10th, 2019, just a couple of weeks after the Porter fight, Spence was driving his Ferrari in his hometown of Dallas at close to 3:00 AM. At a “high rate of speed”, he veered over the median, flipped multiple times, and, not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car. Miraculously, Spence suffered facial lacerations but no broken bones. After spending six days in the hospital, Spence was released and charged with DWI, for which he ultimately received probation.
Fourteen months after the car accident, Spence returned to the ring and retained his titles by outpointing Danny Garcia. Spence was set to follow that up with the biggest fight of his career, signing a contract to take on the legendary Manny Pacquiao in August 2021.
Just a week and a half before the bout was set to take place, a pre-fight medical examination discovered a retinal tear in Spence’s left eye, forcing him to withdraw from the fight. Yordenis Ugas stepped in to replace Spence, and shocked the boxing world by upsetting Manny Pacquiao.
After Spence was given a clean bill of health, he stepped in the ring against Ugas in April 2022. Spence dominated Ugas as the referee stopped the fight in the 10th round with Ugas’ right eye swollen shut. It wasn’t beating Manny Pacquiao, but for Spence it was a small bit of reprisal against Ugas. Following the bout, Spence called out Terence Crawford.
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When Errol Spence took on Terence Crawford three years ago, the welterweight unification bout was billed as The Fight of the Century. Most observers viewed it as a 50/50 fight. Once the opening bell rang, though, Terence Crawford demolished Errol Spence. Crawford outlanded Spence 185 to 96, knocked him down three times, and utterly dominated the previously undefeated and untouchable Spence, with the referee finally calling a halt to the action in the ninth round.
It was a one-sided thrashing that was difficult to comprehend as it was happening, and still is. Recently, Spence has attempted to explain what went wrong that night, or rather, in the lead-up to that night.
In a recent interview with Andre Ward, Spence pointed the finger at former trainer Derrick James. “Man, that camp was bullshit. I didn’t spar probably six weeks — yeah, like six, seven weeks I did like no sparring. It was just a lot of stuff that went wrong in that camp.” […] “We just work the mitts. The whole time we were just working mitts. You would think he would put on some gloves and have me like blocking shots and whatnot, but it was none of that.“
In response, James countered, “It was [disappointing to hear him describe it that way], but it’s for him, though. I mean like, okay, he said he didn’t spar. No, he did spar for two weeks, and supposedly he got injured in the last week of the sparring, so he couldn’t spar for the next eight weeks because he had suffered an injury in that sparring session. So that’s the only thing that was really different, that he didn’t have the ability to spar because he was injured.”
Spence and James have not only battled verbally, but in the courtroom. Each has filed suit against one another, with James seeking damages for compensation he allegedly did not receive and Spence countersuing for declaratory relief. For his comeback fight against Tszyu, Spence is now being trained by Ronnie Shields.
Beyond Spence’s psyche and a thirty-six-month layoff, there is the weighty question of how Spence will adapt to life outside the welterweight division. Spence has fought exclusively at or just above the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. Now he will move up two weight classes to take on a powerful Tim Tszyu.
These concerns have grown since the fight was moved from 158 pounds to 160 pounds at Spence’s request. How well is your training camp going if you are seeking an alteration to the weight limit a week and a half before a fight? The feeling of ring rust will only intensify if Spence gets hit with a clean power shot early on.
Inside the ring, Errol Spence Jr. goes by the nickname “The Truth”. While it has been a while since he has fired on all cylinders, at his best, the truth is, not many men can hang with Spence. Can he find glimpses of that top form on Saturday night? Is elite Errol Spence gone for good? On Saturday night, we will begin to get some answers.
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