Errol Spence Jr. may never return to boxing, but is he a future Hall of Famer?
Spence is the former Unified Welterweight Champion who has not stepped into the ring since his defeat to Terence Crawford in 2023. It was the first loss of Spence’s career, as he was dropped three times on his way to a ninth-round stoppage loss. The defeat meant Spence missed out on becoming the first Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the four-belt era.
Since then, Spence has been linked with a fight at 154 pounds. Bouts against the likes of Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu and Keith Thurman have been mentioned. However, Spence underwent cataract surgery, which kept him out for a period. He has also split from his trainer, Derrick James, as there are doubts about whether he makes a comeback. Crawford recently said that Spence had not done enough to be a future Hall of Famer, while Shakur Stevenson disagreed with those sentiments.
Perception
“I can retire right now and be in the Hall of Fame. He can’t. Everything that I’ve accomplished, he’s still trying to accomplish. He fought in one division, they already called him a weight bully. I honestly don’t know if he makes it to the Hall of Fame with the accolades he has right now,” Crawford said
“I disagree. [And] I feel as though Errol had a great career. If it wasn’t for Bud, he would’ve been undisputed. He went out and got every belt one by one by one. I think he’s a Hall of Famer,” Shakur said
Spence secured some of the biggest wins in the sport. He defeated Kell Brook when the latter was the IBF Welterweight Champion. While some may argue that Brook was not the same fighter after his loss to GGG, Spence still had to beat Brook in his backyard by travelling to the UK. Spence followed up that win with victories against the likes of Danny Garcia, Yorden Ugas and Shawn Porter, to name a few.
Spence’s Legacy
All three of those fighters are former world champions, showing Spence did defeat elite-level opposition.
However, some may argue that Spence was facing a weakened welterweight division. There are suggestions that he delayed the Crawford fight right until the end in the hope that he could face off against Bud when the latter was past his peak. However, that ultimately backfired since it gave Crawford enough time to grow into the weight class.
Crawford became the WBO Welterweight Champion in 2018 when he defeated Jeff Horn for the belt. The Spence fight happened five years later, as Crawford grew into the weight class. Bud then moved up to 154 pounds, beating Israil Madrimov to become the WBA Junior Middleweight Champion. He is now expected to face Canelo Alvarez in September. If Spence does not return to have another fight and secure a win to banish the memories of the Crawford loss, then it will cast a major negative on a career that has largely been successful. Unfortunately, boxers are only as good as their last fight.
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