Why Did People Think Errol Spence Was Good?

He was a very good fighter and he had a great career he just wasn't ever the P4P top 10 or certainly not top 5 talent and calibre of fighter he was made out to be and ranked for so long.

As I've been saying for years, he forged a career cleaning out 147 of its career 140 pounders and blown up 135 Mikey, only fought 2 career 147 world champs in his whole career who he struggled badly against, and only defended his world title once in his 6 year + reign vs a career 147 champ

And in addition to that he fought a lot of featherfists and average punchers at best, many being career 140 pounders, and fighters who were punchers at 140 or below but their power didn't carry up or wasn't near as impressive at 147

I never liked the way he reacted to getting caught clean even against lighter to average punchers (pulling ouch that really hurt faces often, spitting out his gumshield to buy time) which was always a red flag for me to how his chin would hold up legit bangers and KO artists his own size.

Even against the bigger and stronger Tszyu who is a decent puncher, especially when he can punch in combination, he was holding and spoiling an awful lot in order to prevent Tszyu from being able to get off with his combos and then he got on his bike a lot in the 2nd half of the fight. I believe Tszyu would've stopped if not for that.

To be fair, he doesn't normally fight like that but he felt compelled to do so because of Tszyu's size, strength and power which is the same problem all those naturally smaller guys and featherfists Spence fought at 147 had to deal with vs him

But he was still a very good fighter in his prime, with a style that was good to watch, and I always found him a very easy going likeable guy

 

What a compelling case he makes for his ''friend'' Spence. He should be nowhere near a commentary box or a panellist with a vote for P4P rankings as he does for ESPN. He can't put his biases to one side and has zero to say when fighters from certain parts of the world are robbed blind or never get the rub of the green in the US. He would be very vocal if it was the other way round, let alone of it was happening damn near everytime. Paulie actually calls it out and unlike narcissist Dre doesn't try to make it about himself like Dre does so often.

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Does Errol Spence belong in the Hall of Fame? One knowledgeable observer believes so.

The 36-year-old from DeSoto, Texas, retired following a one-sided loss to Tim Tszyu in his middleweight debut over the weekend in Sydney after a three-year layoff.

Now, the former IBF, WBA, and WBC welterweight champion will have to wait to see whether he gets a call from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in three years, or more if he doesn't enter on the first ballot.

For some, Spence hasn’t done quite enough to earn induction. For others, including Andre Ward, a 2021 Hall of Famer in his own right, there should be no debate. Spence has victories over Kell Brook, Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Ugas.

“Yes,” Ward told The Ring. “I believe he should be a Hall of Famer. ... He had a great career. He’s one of the last of a dying breed that will get down with anybody. He’s taken more risks post-car wreck than some guys have in their whole careers.

Spence had at least one piece of the welterweight championship from 2017 to 2023. When he was at his best, the DeSoto, Texas, resident was an aggressive, come-forward fighter who threw punches in bunches.

However, on the biggest night of his career, he went down three times and was knocked out in nine rounds by Terence Crawford in July 2023. That brutal setback, as well as a horrific car crash that could've cost him his life in 2019, seemed to have truncated his career as an elite fighter.

Spence (28-2, 22 KOs) did have some success after the accident. He returned from a one-year break, giving him time to recover, to outpoint two-division champion Garcia in December 2020 and then added his final title (WBA) by stopping Ugas a year and a half later.

However, he never won another fight and finished his career with two lopsided losses. Still, Ward doesn’t believe he has anything to be ashamed of.

"I respect him deeply," Ward said. "He did everything that he has to do. And now he can ride off into the sunset.”


This was amusing. Spence said this when he was a guest on Dre's podcast

“That’s why I’m going to Australia,” to meet former 154-lbs champion Tszyu, he said. “It’s a dope experience to conquer someone in their own town.”