By Jim Maltzman: IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) is slowly but surely coming back from his terrible car crash from six months ago on October 10 in Dallas, Texas.
After getting a full checkup from the Cleveland Clinic and some dental work done on his front teeth, Spence is back in training, trying to lose weight for his next fight.
Errol had dental work done after the car crash
Spence wants to be in top shape and ready to fight so that he can be one of the first boxers to see action when boxing restarts in 2020. He put on a lot of weight with the six months of inactivity after his car crash, and he’s still taking it off.
Spence’s speech still sounds a little slurred from the car crash, but the credible explanation for that is the dental work that he had on his front teeth. He had a couple of posts inserted into his jaw, and it’s going to need to heal. Until then, Spence’s speech could be affected.
Spence named the fighters on his hit list this week for when he returns to the ring. He says he wants to face one of these top welterweights:
- Manny Pacquiao
- Danny Garcia
- Keith Thurman
Spence won’t be fighting Shawn Porter or Terence Crawford right away, as he wants to fight some of the other welterweights first. He already beat Porter by a 12 round split decision last September in a close fight. The rematch likely won’t be as close because Spence says he’s not going to slug it out with Porter next time.
Spence working out every day
“I feel pretty good. The first couple of months, I could really move my head or my neck,” said Spence to the Dallas Morning News. “I went to the Cleveland Clinic, and they did a full evaluation on me from head to toe, and they said I was good. They said I was good and that I would probably still be sore a little bit.
“Now I’m fully recovered, hitting the speed bag and hitting the bag, working out with my coach, and running five or six miles a day. Right now, I think I’ll have a full recovery. I still haven’t done any sparring or anything like that.
It’s good that Spence is back in training again. He said he’s not sparring yet because he still needs to wait until his teeth are ready before he can begin sparring. Additionally, Spence still doesn’t have an opponent picked out for his next fight.
Before Spence’s car accident last October, he had planned on fighting Danny Garcia on January 27 on Fox Sports Pay-Per-View. Spence will still be taking on Garcia, possibly in the summer, depending on when boxing is allowed to resume.
Spence doesn’t want to fight behind closed doors without fans, but he will he if he has to. He’s already missed out on one fight due to his car crash, and he doesn’t want to miss out on a second one.
Some boxing fans are concerned whether Spence will be the same fighter he was previous to his car crash. Given that he’s been given a full checkup by the Cleveland Clinic, he’s been given the green light to return to the ring.
Losing weight is a priority for Spence
“I’ll probably do that a little bit later on when I have a fight scheduled. Right now, I’m training and trying to get my weight down. I think when I get my weight down a little bit more, I’ll be 100%. When I was out all that time, I was eating a lot, and I got a real higher weight.
“So right now, I’m trying to drop it and get back down to my normal weight. Right now, when they open up the sporting venues. Hopefully, I won’t have to fight without fans being there and things like that without a crowd,” said Spence.
For Spence, it would be hard for him to fight without a crowd because he’s the type of fighter that feeds off the energy from the fans. Fighting without a crowd would seem like a sterile, clinical environment, and not something that motivates him.
Again, Spence will need to fight whether it’s behind closed doors or not. If the global pandemic lasts through 2021, Spence can’t afford to be inactive all that time. Fighters that want to be paid extra money to compete without fans present, like Terence Crawford, for example, they may need to sit idle until the crowds come back.
Spence’s main obstacles to return to the ring is him losing weight, and the State Commissions and governments allowing the sport to continue in some fashion.
Errol wants to be ready when boxing restarts
“Right now, I’m just getting ready in shape, and concentrating 100% on boxing,” said Spence “I’m making sure that when things open back up, I will be ready, and I’ll be one of the first people to fight,” said Spence.
It’s good that Spence wants to be ready to go as soon as boxing starts up. He needs to make up for lost time and defend his IBF and WBC 147-pound titles.
There’s a lot of different guys for Spence to fight at 147, and he wants to face the best. Ideally, Spence is hoping he can face WBA welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao when he returns, but that fight won’t be easy to put together.
Pacquiao is taking his time getting in there with Spence, and he may elect to wait a little longer before he faces him.
It will be tragic if Spence’s career is never the same after the car crash. Fans are listening to Spence say he’s 100 percent, but they’re still skeptical. When they see the twisted wreckage that his Ferrari was left in during his car crash, they worry that he potentially has physical problems that will linger for the rest of his life.
The way Spence is slurring his speech, it leaves a jarring impression on people. They don’t think he’s physically OK with the way he’s talking in a slowed manner. Whether that’s Spence’s teeth or some other problem is hard to know.
