Errol Spence Jr. returned to the fore this week after months out of the spotlight following his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford.
Initially posting about cataract surgery, Spence went on to make startling admissions about his recovery from two car accidents.
The first in October 2019 could have taken Spence’s life. It eventually cost him a fight with Manny Pacquiao due to eye damage. The second occurred in December 2022, just months before the Crawford fight.
Spence has now stated he wasn’t training properly or focused on his career, leaving Crawford’s stunning ninth-round knockout questionable.
“The Truth” was a shadow on himself on the night as Crawford dominated Spence on Pay Per View. For his performance, Crawford was widely praised as a potential Fighter of the Year.
Errol Spence was not one hundred percent against Terence Crawford
However, in light of what Spence has outlined, Crawford beat a shell of a world champion when taking three welterweight titles to become undisputed.
As previously suggested, that sole victory for Crawford in 2023 would place him nowhere near the top two alongside Naoya Inoue.
Addressing fans, Spence potentially might not have realized the damage we were doing to Crawford’s best career victory.
Responding to one fan labeling him a ‘one trick pony’ on the night, Spence said: “You might be right, but one trick got to the Olympics and put his kids in private school.
“His mom and pops retired years ago [and he has a] passport full of stamps. I don’t have to pick up a glove again if I don’t want to.
“It’s cool that the Spence family appreciate them if they had been paying to watch this one-trick-pony.”
He added: “Some of you all forget what this really is for until you [are] 37 [and] trying to make a comeback for ten percent of what you use to make.”
Spence is not living the boxer lifestyle
The dagger to the Crawford win came next, as Spence stated: “All that said, you can kill the retirement, though.
“Yes, I got my a** s beat and sh*t was past due. But I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part.”
Spence has revealed more than once that his eye hasn’t been one hundred percent since the first crash. He underwent cataract surgery this week to correct it permanently and save his career.
However, if he does face Crawford again, there’s no way “Bud” can get any kudos from the fight due to question marks over Spence’s injuries.
On the post-fight press conference with Crawford and showing off the eye his rival targeted, Spence concluded. “They asked me whether I wanted to do the presser.
“I showed up with no glasses and answered all the questions with my head up. I gave [Crawford] a hug for the a**-whooping and dipped.”
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
