Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. is in boxing limbo. While he hasn’t explicitly announced retirement from the sport, there doesn’t seem to be any plans for his return either. Having already spent nearly two years on the sidelines, fans are starting to wonder whether ‘The Truth’ will ever grace the ring again. 

In the meantime, a new controversy seems to be taking root, as former welterweight champion Shawn Porter refused to accept defeat in his fight against Spence Jr. in September 2019. The pair locked horns at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for Spence’s IBF strap and Porter’s WBC title. Ultimately, Spence Jr. won the fight via split decision. 

Porter would go on to fight Sebastian Formella and Terence Crawford before hanging up the gloves in 2021. However, almost six years after the fight, he spoke about it on his podcast show The Porterway Podcast, where he seemed to remember the fight going quite differently. Speaking about the Crawford vs. Spence Jr. fight and the recent Ryan Garcia-Rolly Romero fight, Porter claimed that Spence was robotic in that fight.

“Spence, where he was a plotter, he was in your face, he was aggressive, and he was gonna fight. He was robotic,” he said during the podcast. When co-host Anthony Brenagh interrupted, suggesting, “He was robotic, not against you. He was just matching your s**t,” guest Goodz Da Animal claimed he had Porter winning the fight.

To this, Porter immediately showed his agreement, noting, “I do too.” Porter explained that the reason Spence Jr lost against Terence Crawford had little to do with his coach, Derrick James, and more to do with Errol Spence Jr’s inability to adjust after being hit. “You have to have a fighter that has the ability to make adjustments,” he elucidated. This is why, in Shawn Porter’s opinion, both Errol Spence Jr and Ryan Garcia lost their respective fights despite having a good trainer like Derrick James in their corner.

Late last year, Errol Spence Jr. was in talks for a fight against the unified light middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, but after several postponements, the potential fight was permanently shelved.

Since then, Spence Jr. was part of another controversy involving Terence Crawford.

Terence Crawford says Errol Spence Jr. can’t make it BHOF, Shakur Stevenson disagrees 

Terence Crawford stirred debate by claiming Errol Spence Jr. doesn’t have a Hall of Fame–worthy resume. Speaking about his former opponent, Crawford dismissed Spence’s accomplishments despite his unified welterweight reign and unbeaten run prior to their 2023 showdown. Spence suffered his only career loss to Crawford via ninth-round TKO in a one-sided contest. 

However, Shakur Stevenson disagrees with Crawford’s take. In an interview with The Best Women’s Boxing Show Period, Stevenson said, “I disagree. I feel as though Errol had a great career. If it wasn’t for Bud, he would’ve been undisputed. He went out and got every belt one by one by one. I think he’s a Hall of Famer.” 

Spence owns wins over former champions like Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Kell Brook. Though he hasn’t fought since the Crawford loss, many believe his body of work still merits Hall of Fame consideration.

That said, it appears that Errol Spence Jr. continues to remain AWOL from boxing, while new controversies start drumming up about him. What do you think of Porter’s claims?