Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. continues to starve the boxing world with a lack of action. It’s understandable that the first career loss hits differently, but every great boxer, which Spence is, bounces back stronger than ever. But ‘The Truth’ simply refuses to. You see, back in July 2023, Spence suffered a brutal 9th-round knockout loss to two-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford.
While he had the option to invoke the rematch clause in their contract, he never did. Then, there were talks of a fight against Sebastian Fundora after the latter defeated Australia’s Tim Tszyu in a bloodbath to secure the WBC and WBO super welterweight titles. However, even this fight never materialized following a storm of postponements, which ended with the PBC pulling the plug on it. Even Fundora was nowhere to be found, with the two titles remaining undefended for a year. Nevertheless, Fundora has finally secured an opponent to defend his two titles—Chordale Booker. The pair will collide on 22nd March at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. In the meantime, he has spilled the beans about why the Spence Jr. fight never happened.
“Things change all the time. Opponents fall through. Events fall through. With Booker, we’ve been training hard to have our first defense of our titles,” ‘The Towering Inferno’ said during a virtual press conference before his upcoming showdown. “I was ready to fight Spence last year but they kept switching the dates. I don’t know what happened with Spence, I can’t speak on his behalf. But we were ready to fight and the dates kept changing for whatever reason.”
Fundora claimed he had been training for his next showdown since May last year “for whatever was to come. It didn’t happen, but here we are now. I am ready.” He later revealed that even though he is focused on Booker for now, “Those are big fights [against Spence and Crawford] and those doors are always open. I’d love to fight either of them.”
It appears the Fundora fight is no longer in the cards for Spence Jr., at least for now, but he has another great potential fight in hand.
Two-time welterweight champion is ready for Errol Spence Jr.
Keith Thurman is back and ready for a big fight. After years of inactivity and a canceled fight against Tszyu last year, the former two-time welterweight champion made a statement by stopping Brock Jarvis in three rounds. Now, Thurman is looking at his options—and Errol Spence Jr. is one of them. “It can easily not be Tim Tszyu next,” Thurman told Fight Hype about a rescheduled fight against Australia’s Tszyu.
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 07: Keith Thurman is seen with a welt after a punch by Robert Guerrero during a Premier Boxing Champions bout in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 7, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
“I’m ready to get in the ring with Errol Spence if he’s looking for a fight.” Spence has been vague about his future. Thurman, however, is eager to keep his momentum going. “I just want to keep fighting,” Thurman continued. “Let’s keep this momentum going.” It’s worth noting that a fight between Spence and Thurman was a highly sought-after affair years ago.
In fact, they were both on top of the division, with three belts between them. After Spence Jr. defeated Kell Brook, a unification bout was all the talk, but Thurman showed a lack of interest and chose not to fight. It’s yet to be seen whether Spence Jr. returns the favor.
Having said that, while people had suspected the Spence-Fundora fight was not happening, it’s surprising that it was Spence’s corner that delayed the fight to the point of cancellation. What do you think about Fundora’s claims?
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