World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Welterweight World champion Errol Spence Jr. has yet to respond to the challenge thrown out to him by Keith Thurman.
The former unified welterweight world champion wants his return to the ring to be nothing less than spectacular as he calls out Spence, who is considered as the top pounder at the 147 class.
Should Spence accept the challenge, it would be interesting because both will be coming from recovering from an injury.
Thurman (29-1 22 KOs) had undergone surgery for his left hand after suffering his first career loss at the hands of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines last July 2019.
Spence (26-0 21 KOs), on the other hand, is coming off a car accident in October wherein he escaped with no broken bones, not even a month after defeating Shawn Porter via split decision and unifying the WBC and IBF welterweight world titles.
Both boxers can't wait to return and vowed to be back this year.
Thurman, however, said that he is not expecting Errol Spence Jr. to take up his challenge.
And, Thurman is not the only challenger raring to go up against Spence.
Spence himself said he wants to go up against Danny Garcia, whom he was supposed to fight in January before his accident.
However, Spence seems no longer the favorite following his harrowing accident wherein he was fortunate to escape with not a single bone in his body broken despite getting thrown off from his Ferrari when it flipped while traveling at high speed.
There has been a lot of speculation on how much the accident had affected him and if he will be the same fighter who also thrashed Mikey Garcia before going up against Porter.
However, Spence’s trainer, Derrick James, is shutting down the doubters by agreeing with Spence that he doesn't need to start his return to the ring with a tune-up fight as what many are suggesting.
James added that Errol Spence Jr. is eager to once again prove himself, and it would not matter who he would be facing. It could be Garcia, Pacquiao, or Thurman, it doesn’t matter as long as he could get back into the thick of things and prove wrong those who have started counting him out.
Image credit courtesy of Errol Spence Jr./Instagram
