Errol Spence Jr., once a dominant force in boxing, has retired from the sport at age 36, immediately following his second consecutive career loss. The announcement came after Spence lost to Tim Tszyu by unanimous decision in Australia early Sunday.
Spence, who was widely considered a future Hall of Famer, stated his decision to retire to interviewer Ben Damon, saying, "I think yeah, for sure." He expressed gratitude for leaving the sport with his health and finances intact, and with his family by his side.
The fight against Tszyu saw the Australian boxer win with scores of 118-110 and 117-111 on two cards. Tszyu outlanded Spence, landing 190 punches to Spence's 157, despite Spence throwing more punches. Tszyu acknowledged the significance of defeating a legend like Spence, stating it topped winning a world title for him.
Spence's retirement follows a defeat to Terence Crawford in July 2023, a fight that ended his undefeated streak and his reign as undisputed welterweight champion. That bout resulted in a ninth-round technical knockout loss for Spence, with Crawford dropping him three times.
During his career, Spence amassed a record of 28 wins with 22 knockouts. He held multiple world championships at welterweight, including the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles. His championship run began with an 11th-round knockout of Kell Brook in May 2017. He successfully defended his titles against notable opponents like Lamont Peterson and Mikey Garcia, and unified titles against Shawn Porter in September 2019. He also added the WBA Super World title by stopping Yordenis Ugas in April 2022.
In his later career, Spence experienced decreased activity, fighting only five times after March 2019 and facing average layoffs of 15 months between bouts. A significant event in his career was a single-car accident in Dallas on October 10, 2019. Spence, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from his Ferrari after the high-speed crash. He was hospitalized and later charged with a DWI. Despite severe injuries, he made a full recovery and returned to the ring 14 months later to defeat Danny Garcia by unanimous decision.