By Max Scramm: Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr. revealed last Saturday night that he’ll be returning to the ring in February or March at 147 for a “big” fight against a still to be determined opponent.
Errol (27-0, 21 KOs) will be coming off a 14 to 15-month layoff when he returns to the ring, but he’s still ready to take on an elite-level fighter.
The candidates for Spence’s next fight are expected to be Terence Crawford, Yordenis Ugas, Vergil Ortiz Jr., and Kudratillo Abdukakhorov.
WBO welterweight champion Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) is campaigning hard to be the next opponent for the Spence, but whether he gets the fight will likely be determined by the pay-per-view numbers his title defense against Shawn Porter pulled in last Saturday night on ESPN+ PPV.
If that fight bombs in bringing in less than 200,000 buys, it’s likely Spence will go in another direction towards a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. or Ugas.
Spence needs someone that can help sell PPV, and Crawford has been a dismal failure in that regard. He’s a great fighter but lacks personality.
Spence says the next fight will be BIG
“I don’t know,” said Spence to ESNEWS when asked if Crawford would become his WBC mandatory. Yeah, I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me.
“Everybody has got to wait. I’m coming back with a big one. When I’ll be back, it’s going to be a big one,” said Spence.
“I’ll be at 147 still,” said Spence. “Hopefully, I’ll be fighting again in February or March. We’ll see,” said Errol when asked if he’ll be facing WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in a unification fight next.
“Any opportunity. It’ll be my second time coming back after a long layoff. The eye is good. I haven’t started sparring yet, but I can spar.
“I don’t see him [Jermall Charlo] fighting ‘Boo Boo’ [Demetrius Andrade]. That would be a good fight, but whoever he [Jermall] wants to fight,” said Spence.
The look on Spence’s face when he was asked about a fight with WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas suggests strongly that he could be the next one he faces.
Spence vs. Ugas would involve three belts being on the line, which is ideal for both fighters. The winner will be a three-belt champion and put them one strap away from becoming the undisputed champion.
In the meantime, it would be nice if Crawford increased his popularity by taking on unbeaten Josh Taylor, as that’s a fight that would resonate around the world, particularly in the UK.
Errol reacts to Porter loss to Crawford
“It was a good fight. His dad stopped it too early,” said Errol Spence Jr. to the media about Shawn’s trainer/dad Kenny Porter stopping his fight with Crawford too early. “He looked the same, but his daddy stopped it too early, though,” Errol said about Kenny pulling Porter out way too soon in the 10th round.
“Porter did good. I thought Porter could have won if it didn’t get stopped,” Spence continued. “I had Porter up.
“We’ll see,” said Errol when asked about him fighting Crawford. “I’ll be back probably in March,” said Spence.
Last Saturday night, Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs) looked only 70% of the fighter that faced Spence two years ago in September 2019. Porter has aged since then, and a big part of that is inactivity.
Instead of staying active, Porter has been sitting around, doing commenting, and fighting a weak cellar-dweller welterweight Sebastian Formella.
Based on his lack of activity, Porter wasn’t ready to challenge Crawford.
The rumors of little 5’5″ Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis beating Porter up in sparring wasn’t a good sign going into the fight with Crawford. If Porter was getting beaten up by Tank, there was no chance that he would defeat Crawford.
Spence: Canelo is daring to be great
“He’s daring to be great,” said Spence to ESNEWS in reacting to Canelo Alvarez moving up to cruiserweight division. “That’s good for the sport, that’s good for him, and he’s doing what he wants to do.
“I don’t know if I can get to cruiserweight. If I get to cruiserweight, I’d probably be done. I’d have been out for five or six years,” said Spence.
