Earlier today, former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) posted a video of him leaving a facility with a patch on his eye. Spence followed the video with another post, saying, “Had to get cataract surgery...It’s been past due. Sh*t was covering my eye.” Then, down below said, “Why you think I got hit with so many jabs N hooks. Still a great performance by bro.”
Spence was referring to his July fight with unified welterweight champion Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), where he was stopped in the ninth round. It was the most one-sided fight between two elite fighters in recent years. Fans of Spence weren’t shy about posting their disappointment with him on social media while also mentioning that something didn’t look right about him.
‼️ Errol Spence has had cataract surgery today, which he says has been overdue from before the Terence Crawford fight: “Why you think I got hit with so many jabs and hooks? Still a great performance by bro.” pic.twitter.com/Fflll432v7
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 8, 2024
This was the same eye that he suffered a detached retina about a week before his scheduled fight against Manny Pacquiao in the summer of 2021. All of these injuries stem from his horrific accident in 2019, in which he miraculously survived. Many thought he wouldn’t ever fight again, but he returned less than a year later to defeat Danny Garcia in Dallas, TX.
After suffering his first loss against Crawford, Spence activated his rematch clause within 30 days. As the months passed, no one had heard from Spence, and many wondered whether he would retire or go through the rematch with Crawford. Shortly before the new year, Spence started to post on social media again, and now this latest video of him having surgery will likely mean he won’t be returning until at least the summer.
