Errol Spence Jr was soundly beaten by Terence Crawford in one of the most-anticipated all-American match-ups in the sport back in 2023.
The two welterweight champions – Crawford the WBO, Spence the WBA, WBC and IBF – finally met in the ring after dominating the division and bypassing the businessmen to begin negotiations themselves.
For hardcore boxing fans it was Christmas in July as the two elite operators stepped through the ropes. Many experts billed the bout a 50/50, but it played out very differently.
The undisputed champion – the first man to do it in two divisions in the four-belt era – has since moved up to super-welterweight and won another world title by beating Israil Madrimov.
Spence hasn’t competed since, sitting out the rest of the year and the entire 2024. At the time, he revealed that he wasn’t taking the loss particularly well.
“No bulls**t – the first three months [after losing to Terence Crawford] I was waiting for someone in public to say something out of pocket in front of me. I was vulnerable to a lawsuit or something else around that time.”
After some reflection, however, he accepted that “it was past due” and summed up his performance by saying “I got my ass beat.”
“Yeah, I got my ass beat – s**t was past due. I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part.”
Spence has been linked with his own move to the super-welterweight ranks, with a shot against WBC titleholder Sebastian Fundora reported for some time. However, no official announcement after such a long period could spell trouble for the bout.
The 34-year-old remains ranked number one with the sanctioning body and has denied recent rumours that he is suffering with another eye injury after having to pull out of a Manny Pacquiao fight years ago for that reason. Responding to the claim that he has retired due to that, he said, “if it doesn’t come from me [it’s trash].”
