Was Errol Spence a hype job all along?

After the recent super fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence ended in a one sided beat down by the aforementioned Crawford, many have voiced the opinion that Spence was a hype job all along. Just so we’re clear a hype job is a fighter who wasn’t on the level they were made out to be either by the media, fans or both. So let’s discuss this topic and see what we come out with.

Errol Spence started his career in November 2012 making his pro debut against Jonathon Garcia. There was a ton of hype around Spence as he not only came from the last Olympic team but rumours started to emerge that he gave the pound for pound best Floyd Mayweather some work in sparring. Many were highly anticipating his rise to the top and many felt he could be the next great American welterweight. His chance for a title finally came when he earned a mandatory spot for the IBF belt held by Kell Brook. Brook was an elite welterweight at the time however he had just jumped up two weight classes to take on the killer GGG and had returned to 147 pounds with a fractured orbital bone. He still had his belt and so he defended it immediately against Spence who was hungry and ready to take the title with both hands. After a fantastic fight Spence stopped Brook in the eleventh round to claim his first world title and break his first orbital bone as it turns out Brook suffered another fractured orbital bone this time on the other side.

As a champion Spence began to live a bit wilder as he began to party more and tended to put on a bit more weight outside of camp. This didn’t stop his career for now however as he had a couple more defences before defending his belt against a smaller Mikey Garcia who was “daring to be great” by moving up from lightweight and unfortunately for many boxing fans he just turned up for the payday. After this Spence unified in a fight of the year contender against Shawn Porter. Porter was very game and as a champion himself he was willing to give it his all and nearly took the win home himself. Spence ultimately came out victorious to win the WBC title and his second of his career so far. Unfortunately after this Spence was involved a drunk driving accident which led to a very violent car crash in which Spence miraculously walked away with no broken bones or major injuries. He began his rehab and returned against a game Danny Garcia who had given some pretty good performances in his career. Even operating at less than 100%, Errol was able to win on points and officially make his comeback.

After his comeback Spence wanted a big fight and luckily for him the legendary Manny Pacquaio did too. The super fight was arranged for August and everyone was excited. Unfortunately injuries struck again as Spence tore his retina and the fight was canned. Yordenis Ugas stepped in to replace Spence and ultimately retired the Filipino legend setting up a unification with Spence which arrived in April of 2022. Spence aimed to collect his 3rd belt and move one step closer to his goal of undisputed and that he did after ten round of a great fight. Spence put on a performance many thought he didn’t have in him after many labelled the fight a career best performance. He did have one spot in the fight however when he looked hurt but he recovered and stopped Ugas collecting another belt and yet another fractured orbital bone.

So there was only one fight leave to make for Spence and that was the undisputed title fight against WBO belt holder Terence Crawford. The two had a long-standing rivalry which had to finally be resolved in a super fight. After over a year of negotiating and a intermediate fight for Crawford it finally was announced for July of 2023 and everyone and their mother was excited. We arrived at fight night and unfortunately for Spence it didn’t go his way. In fact that would be an understatement as he got dominated and stopped in 9. He showed glimpses of potential but was ultimately shut down by the superior boxer and could not get anything going.

This brings me back to my original point. After reviewing Spence’s entire career and seeing where he is today, is he a hype job? He is seen as one of the best welterweights today and took part in a super fight which ended up being one sided. He collected 3 of 4 major world titles against great opposition and was on the pound for pound list for a time. In my opinion he was not a hype job. I think all the labels he got were very fair and he has an elite skill set. He has suffered one loss in his entire career and that loss came to someone who many claim is one of the best of all time. He has delivered great fights and has achieved more than most boxers ever will.