Boxing
Errol Spence Jr. gracefully bows out of boxing following unanimous decision loss to Tim Tszyu
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'The Truth' is it's extremely difficult to return to the ring following a near three-year absence.
Errol Spence Jr. realized that the hard way Sunday in Australia, and live on DAZN PPV, where Tim Tszyu walked him down with a unanimous decision that was enough to make the former unified welterweight world champion bow out gracefully from boxing right then and there.
"I got my faculties intact," Spence conceded in the ring at Afterpay Arena in Tszyu's home land of New South Wales following his second professional loss. "My money is good and working for itself, so everything's good. I got a beautiful family and I thank god that I'm gracious enough to leave this sport with my faculties intact and my family by my side."
Making his first appearance since suffering a devastating ninth-round TKO at the hands of Terence Crawford in their July 2023 fight for undisputed welterweight glory, Spence was a shadow of himself, almost immediately showing ring rust on unsteady legs Sunday.
Still, 'The Truth' proved to be gutsy, making hard deposits to Tszyu's body and maintaining that trend over the course of the fight. That said, he couldn't stop Tszyu from imposing his will and walking him down behind sharp, smothering right hands that repeatedly split his guard, even brushing him back at points.
As Tszyu took control, it was apparent this wasn't going to be 'The Big Fish' who stepped into Sheffield, England and successfully stopped Kell Brook to win his first world title or the Spence that imposed his own will on Shawn Porter, scoring an 11th-round knockdown to power his way to a split-decision win and reign as unified welterweight ruler.
Spence's magnificent career had him owning three 147-pound titles at its peak, having overcome everything from a nightmarish one-vehicle accident to a retinal tear in his left eye along the way.
But at 36, Spence couldn't find any solutions to a younger Tszyu's incessant pressure as Father Time crept in. Crawford, who attended the fight, took to his X account and posted "reflex gone" in reaction to what he witnessed.
After a tense buildup, Tszyu and Spence embraced in the ring in a show of respect following their fight. Though Tszyu shared that he'd like to challenge for a world title next, even mentioning WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara, it wasn't lost on the Australian that he just reeled in 'The Big Fish' as the largest catch on his ledger.
"Beating a great like Errol Spence Jr.," Tszyu said, "tops any world title off for me."
Spence has the respect from his peers and boxing alike following a stellar career.
