Lelinwalla: I'm glad Spence is back - and boxing should be too

I’m happy ‘The Truth’ is back — and boxing should be too.

Boxing has a way of diminishing — and even discarding — one’s greatness with a lone loss and that’s got to stop.

Yes, Terence Crawford proved he was levels above Spence, knocking him down three times with a devastating ninth-round TKO in their July 2023 mega bout for the undisputed welterweight crown. In doing so, Crawford shattered the pre-fight perception that the bout was a 50-50 affair. In September 2025, Crawford then affirmed that he’s this generation’s best by moving up two weight classes to soundly defeat Canelo Alvarez via unanimous decision.

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Yes, Crawford decimating Spence was damaging to the latter’s career — no doubt. However, it shouldn’t take away from what Spence has accomplished in his career as a former unified ruler of the 147-pound division.

After all, Michael Jordan dashed the NBA title dreams of Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Karl Malone, but all those Dream Team members still cruised to the Hall of Fame, right? The absence of a championship ring is glaring on their respective resumes, but it shouldn't summon amnesia of their contributions to the sport.

Similarly, for Spence, losing to this generation’s Jordan and arguably the greatest of all time in Crawford isn’t a shame. He was defeated — albeit badly — by the superior fighter. But what separates a Spence from the likes of Ewing, Barkley, Stockton and Malone is ‘The Truth’ has tasted world championship glory and arguably has a future spot in the Hall of Fame. Crawford and understudy Shakur Stevenson had this very debate last year with 'Bud' refuting Spence's Hall of Fame case, while Stevenson gave 'The Truth' the nod to join boxing's hallowed greats.

Across his 29 professional fights, Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) has given boxing plenty of indelible moments, whether imposing his way to a riveting 11^th-round knockout of Kell Brook across the pond in Sheffield, England to win the IBF welterweight title in May 2017 or turning back a gutsy Mikey Garcia in a spectacle at AT&T Stadium — home of the Dallas Cowboys — in Arlington, Texas in March 2019.

He got the better of a dogged Shawn Porter in their unification bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, standing tall to Showtime’s turbulence with a picture-perfect left hook that made Porter’s glove touch the canvas. The 11^th-round knockdown helped secure a hard-fought split decision victory, which might have been Spence’s hallmark win as he added the WBC title to his shiny hardware.

Weeks removed from the bout, Spence miraculously survived a devastating one-vehicle crash, yet still managed to return to sport just over a year later and outpoint a tough former champ in Danny Garcia in December 2020.

This was the same Spence who was slated to fight Manny Pacquiao in a star-studded August 2021 fight before the former experienced a major setback in suffering a retinal tear of his left eye. Still, Spence endured, returning yet again in April 2022, when he stopped Yordenis Ugas to add a third welterweight title — the WBA belt — to his collection.

Though Spence was thoroughly outclassed by Crawford in July 2023, here is at 36, returning to boxing yet again. And he's not taking an easy road in fighting a younger Tszyu (27-3, 18 KOs) in the 31-year-old's home country of Australia and at an unchartered territory of 160 pounds — a weight requested by Spence.

‘The Truth’ is he might never be ‘The Big Fish’ he was in his ‘Strap Season’ and ‘Man Down’prime, but I’m happy he is back.

And boxing should be too.

Joshua vs. Prenga - exclusively on DAZN PPV

Watch Anthony Joshua's hugely anticipated return to the ring versus Kristian Prenga on Saturday, July 25 only on DAZN PPV. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Itauma vs. Hrgovic and Canelo vs. Mbilli PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.

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