By: Sean Crose
You have to give former welterweight world champion Errol Spence credit for being an honest man. In a world where it’s more acceptable to pout and say you’ve been robbed than to honestly admit you’ve been outdone, Spence got candid Tuesday on social media. Beginning by responding to lame criticism on Twitter, Spence then addressed his one-sided loss to fellow welterweight champion Terence Crawford last summer. “All that said, though you can kill the shit out of retirement,” he stated, “yeah, I got my ass beat, I was behind. I didn’t exactly live like a boxer for the most part lol.”
The 28-1 fighter then reminded his critics that he had been a good sport in defeat from the start. “They asked me if I wanted to do the presser,” he added, “I showed up without glasses, answered all the questions with my head up, gave the bra a hug, and dove in.” When noted trainer Stephen Edwards stepped in to denounce the cheap shots Spence has been taking online since the loss, Spence stated that “it’s great that the Spence family appreciates them if they’ve been paying to see this pony trick.”
Boxing fans can be a cruel and superficial bunch. Fighters who are praised to the moon are suddenly mocked as they taste defeat. This sort of thing dates back at least to 1892 when, after knocking out heavyweight champion John L Sullivan, Jim Corbett realized that the crowd had switched from cheering for Sullivan to cheering for him. He left enough of a bitter taste in Corbett’s mouth that the man wrote about it years later in his autobiography. Suffice to say, not much has changed in that regard. Due to the one-sided nature of Crawford’s magnificent performance against him, Spence now finds himself being treated by certain keyboardists as if he were second rate.
A dose of reality: You don’t win Olympic glory, cross the ocean to win a world title on your opponent’s turf, beat one notable after another for years, and then fight for the chance to be an undisputed division champion by coming in second. rate. We hope Spence doesn’t forget that he “didn’t exactly live like a boxer for the most part” before the fight with Crawford. No matter how things happen to man in the future, it will always be something worth remembering.
