Former IBF and WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., 34, is in a weird spot in his career. Should he get back in the ring? Or should he hang up his gloves for good? The Long Island native suffered a devastating loss at the hands of the current interim WBO super welterweight champion Terence Crawford back in July last year.
‘The Truth’ took one of the worst beatings in recent boxing history during their undisputed welterweight clash. Though he had the option to activate his rematch clause, he never did. Later, he challenged WBC and WBO light middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora to a fight. But the WBO, on August 28th, ordered interim junior middleweight titleholder Crawford to fight Fundora for the full version of the title.
Nowhere left to go for Errol Spence Jr.
The WBO indicated that both camps have 30 days to agree to a deal and send in their purse bid. Even Sebastian Fundora’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has suggested the Crawford fight is the main focus for his boxer, which leaves ‘The Truth’ with no opponent and nowhere to go. This led one fan to ask Spence himself what the future holds for him on social media.
Surprisingly, the former world champion, who hasn’t fought in over a year, responded to the user by sharing a picture on X. Spence’s snap showed a man, presumably Spence himself, sitting in a wooden recliner under a tree, taking in the calm surroundings. This, of course, was a hint at retirement, at least, that’s what it seemed like.
The post was enough for fans to gauge what Spence was expressing through the post, as they rallied behind one final fight before hanging up the gloves for good.
Terence Crawford blamed for Spence’s retirement
Despite his loss to Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. had one of the more impressive boxing careers in the sport. He defeated the likes of Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, and Shawn Porter, to name a few—of course, fans respected his contributions to the sport.
One user suggested Spence should have a retirement fight with a journeyman, and people in Texas, where he currently lives, will welcome him back with a parade. “Just have a retirement fight with a bum at 160 so you at full strength, get the KO then we have a big a** parade for you in Texas 🤷️ one of our greatest welterweights & one of the best of your era. You ain’t got s**t to prove champ 🤝🫡 we appreciate the exciting fights you gave us & you put Texas boxing back on the map..,” the user wrote. However, by the looks of things, Spence has no such intentions.
Even the next user had a similar idea. The user wrote, “One more big payday and retire.” If the fight gets marketed as Spence’s last bout in his hometown, it could make a fair chunk of money.
Meanwhile, this user respected Spence’s choice to call it quits. “Have a great retirement bro,” the user wished Spence. Spence has been in 29 fights thus far—perhaps one fight to round things off won’t be such a bad idea.
The following user voiced support for Spence’s retirement as well. “Ain’t s**t wrong with that, if that’s where happiness resides,” the user remarked. However, leaving the sport with green on his record would be a good way to bid farewell, especially since nobody expected it when Spence fought Crawford.
Another user decided to rope Terence Crawford into the conversation. “Bud really beat him into retirement,” the user wrote. While the Crawford loss affected Spence, blaming Crawford for the retirement isn’t exactly fair.
That being said, if Errol Spence Jr. does follow through with his recent social media post and retires from boxing, the sport will undoubtedly lose one of its greatest talents of this generation. However, fans can’t help but hope for one last hurrah, and many will be eagerly cheering him on. What are your thoughts on Spence’s potential retirement?
