The Nevada State Athletic Commission has taken another hit after Errol Spence claimed he fought Terence Crawford with an eye problem.
Spence reappeared for the first time since his loss to Crawford in the summer of 2023 on a Las Vegas Pay Per View blockbuster.
Upon his return, “The Truth” said he underwent eye surgery for cataracts. He also says his eye was why Crawford landed ‘so many hooks and jabs’ in their one-sided fight.
If what the former world champion states is true, it means Spence did not have a one-hundred-percent vision going into the event. There’s also a case to answer regarding whether Spence should have been cleared in the first place.
The debate has opened a can of worms on which two former world titleholders have aired their respective views. Spence is ultimately revealing that he went into the Crawford headliner knowingly injured.
Kermit Cintron and Ishe Smith both questioned the entire scenario.
Errol Spence makes stunning eye injury claims
Cintron said: “If I were Errol Spence, I would sue his eye doctor. For every fight I’ve had or was scheduled in my career, I always had my eyes examined.
“No way an eye doctor would have missed the cataract diagnosis. Doesn’t make any sense. Speedy recovery to the Champ.”
Smith added: “Every fighter has to see an eye doctor before every fight. So you were out here fighting with cataracts?”
Responding directly to Smith, Cintron stated: “Champ, I posted basically the same thing yesterday. Eyes exams are mandatory.
“For a doctor to have missed that, they need to hang up his license.”
Ex-IBF ruler Smith, the first-ever world champion from Las Vegas, continued: “As I have said, they are three places I know that don’t f*** around when it comes to fighters’ health. Las Vegas, California, and New York.
“Here are Las Vegas’s eye examination forms you have to complete to be licensed in this state. So they said, f*** it, the fight is too big, approve anyway?
He concluded: “You can’t even get a license to fight in the state of Nevada without having an extensive eye exam that includes the dilation of one’s eyes. But what do I know?”
Crawford vs. Spence II
Spence outlining that he couldn’t see Crawford’s punches properly comes just days after referee Tony Weeks alleged that Fredrick Lawson was allowed to compete despite two pre-fight brain tests showing an aneurysm.
Weeks says a third was clear when organizers sought a second opinion. However, the damage was already done, forcing Golden Boy and the NSAC to release separate statements.
These latest revelations put a rematch between Crawford and Spence in serious doubt, if it wasn’t already.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
