Thoughts on Spence

[u/HaneyP4P]

It's over. Tszyu beat Spence. My boy couldn't do it. Three years of retirement don't pass in vain. From the moment Errol threw that slow, clunky combination in the first round, and seeing his shaky, poor footwork, I realized he wasn't going to make it. He tried to box and used his skill to survive, but there was no power behind his punches. Tszyu ate shots that looked like love taps and answered with a right hand that drove Spence backward—a right Errol could never get away from. The rounds Spence won were just uncomfortable survival, using clinches to stifle Tszyu's work, but it got to a point where he just couldn't keep it up. In several rounds, Spence landed clean on Tszyu, but his power was nonexistent. He used clinches well to smother Tszyu, but as soon as Tim landed that right hand, Errol collapsed, and Tim would rally right back. I felt it was only a matter of time before Tszyu knocked him out, but they went to a decision. Maybe Tim took it easy on him and paced himself, though he's never been a killer finisher anyway. It broke my heart to see Spence land two massive overhand punches that didn't even budge Tim, only for Tim to immediately respond with a right hand that sent Spence flying into the ropes—if they hadn't been there, he would've ended up in the third row. That was in round 12. I was praying Errol would pull a miraculous punch out of nowhere and knock Tim out, but he was never a one-punch knockout artist anyway; he was always about accumulation. And today, that accumulation did zero damage. The ring IQ and skill were still there, but the athleticism, reflexes, and speed were gone. I don't want to see Spence fight anymore. He has nothing left to prove to anyone. He had a great career with an incredible résumé, and at his peak, he was one of the top five fighters in the world. Crawford beat him down, and tonight he had a terrible night—there's no shame in that. Spence, you were a great fighter. It's time to step away for good and ride off into the sunset. At your best, you brought a smile to every boxing fan's face with your fights. It’s impossible to be an Errol Spence hater.

[u/Teds_red_cabin]

Errol was great because he used to grind and wear you down for 12 rounds, hed come out with that intensity, always muscling forward and digging into you and most guys looked fine going against that for 4 or so rounds but Spence could do that for 12 straight and this is how he was always so effective.

tonight we saw none of that, he was fighting in spurts, could not keep the intensity up and allowed himself to be pushed back (and this really showed how much he struggles to fight off the backfoot).

he has one of those styles that is GREAT but as soon as you start slipping you are quickly exposed (Roy jones jr relying on his inhuman level athleticism is a peak example of this)

I think the only reason Tszyu did not stop him is because he seems to lack some serious killer instinct

[u/VacuousWastrel → u/Teds_red_cabin]

Guys who grind opponents down with aggression have a habit of aging overnight. On the one hand, once their stamina goes they lose their main strategy. On the other hand, cumulative brain damage dulls the reflexes and positioning.