Errol Spence had a great career, but at 36 years old and after three years out of the ring, the former world champion has hit his ceiling in boxing. Spence lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Tim Tszyu on Sunday morning in Sydney, Australia and announced his retirement in the ring. To put it plainly, it was one of the most pleasant and fitting retirements I’ve ever seen in combat sports. Obviously, fighters like to go out on a win, but there didn’t appear to be any regret in Spence’s tone as he clearly stated it was time for him to “go live the family life.” Let’s talk boxing.
Key Facts at a Glance
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Result: Tim Tszyu def. Errol Spence Jr., unanimous decision
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Scorecards: 118-110, 117-111, 117-111
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Venue: Afterpay Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
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Records: Spence finishes 28-2 (22 KOs) · Tszyu moves to 28-3 (18 KOs)
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Spence’s last fight before this: ninth-round TKO loss to Terence Crawford, July 2023
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Announcement: retirement, declared in the ring immediately after the decision
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What Did Errol Spence Say About Retirement?
He said it in the ring, minutes after the cards were read, and he said it without hedging. There was no rematch talk, no tune-up talk, no wait-and-see.
That tracks with what his corner had already told everyone. Trainer Ronnie Shields said days before the fight that Spence had made the decision in camp, telling Fight Hub TV that Spence’s view was simple: if he lost, his career was over, and there was no sense pushing for anything more.
Shields added that Spence just did not want to go out the way he went out against Crawford.
How Did the Judges Score Spence Vs. Tszyu?
Tszyu didn’t look like a world beater. To be honest, against someone not on their last professional leg, he probably gets knocked out with the performance he gave. The judges made it seem like a rout, but it was closer — at least on my scorecard. I had it 115-113 for Tszyu. Even 116-112 makes sense. In any case, Tszyu deserved the win and Spence made the right decision after the fight.
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Longtime boxing journalist Dan Rafael scored the fight a draw.
The official cards read 118-110 and 117-111 twice, which is a two-to-four-round gap from where I had it. The full card and scoring are logged in the tracker.
What Does Errol Spence Leave Behind?
A six-year reign as a welterweight champion, wins over Shawn Porter, Kell Brook and Mikey Garcia, and a 28-2 record where both losses came in the last three years of a career that started in 2012.
The Crawford fight will always be the asterisk people reach for, and the cataract surgery he revealed months afterward will always be the counterargument. What he got tonight, and did not get in 2023, was the chance to end it on his own terms.
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What’s Next For Tim Tszyu?
Tszyu accomplished his mission. Tszyu spent fight week saying he wanted to make this Spence’s last fight, and now he owns the biggest name on his record and a three-fight win streak.
The middleweight experiment was no one-off. Tszyu said middleweight would be his new division. Elsewhere on the card, Ahmad Reda outpointed Paul Fleming, Callum Peters stopped Ivan Actis in the seventh and Paulo Aokuso stopped Luis Tejeda in the 10th.
It capped a day that started with Anthony Joshua in Jeddah.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
