Spence Undergoes Cataract Surgery- Will He Return?

Errol Spence Jr. had cataract surgery to resolve an issue over his right eye, something which was there in the Terence Crawford fight. 

Spence’s last fight was a one-sided loss to Crawford as he was knocked out in round nine. Spence was sent to the canvas on three occasions before the referee stopped the fight. The narrative heading into the fight was that Spence would be too big for Crawford to handle. The fight turned out to be anything but that as Crawford’s jabs and hooks neutralized Spence’s own jab. After the fight, reports emerged that Spence may have struggled to get down to 147 which is why he wants the rematch at 154 pounds. But now the issue of his surgery has thrown another curveball into the mix. 

Spence’s Surgery

“Cataract surgery is a procedure to remove the lens of the eye and, in most cases, replace it with an artificial lens. A cataract causes the lens to become cloudy when it is typically clear. Cataracts can eventually affect vision … Often, complete healing [after surgery] happens within eight weeks,” Mayo Clinic stated 

“Had successful cataract surgery today! That explains why I got hit with so many jabs and hooks lately and have been overdue since before the Crawford fight. Still a great performance by Bro. No more excuses after this fight, though. The champ is back,” Spence said 

Spence’s Mindset

This raises serious question marks over Spence’s future moving forward. Will he be able to return to his best, or will he leave the sport on that loss? He is a former unified welterweight champion with nothing left to prove other than avenging the Crawford loss. But since that fight is no longer for undisputed, does Spence want to risk harming himself by taking another fight?

This is particularly true since Spence is known for not having as much discipline in staying in shape outside of the ring. He has spoken about stopping drinking in the past, and those issues outside of the ring have hampered his performance. Spence admitted that he was not looking after himself between fights, which can be the difference at the elite level.

“All that said, you can kill the ‘retire’ stuff, though. Yeah, I got my backside beat, but that was past due. I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part. Lol,” Spence revealed 

Spence On Crawford

Despite this being the case, he had nothing but respect for Crawford. Spence refused to make any excuses, and he praised his opponent whom he felt should have been ‘Fighter of the Year.’ The accolade went to Naoya Inoue, who also became undisputed in a second weight class by beating Marlon Tapales. But since he is at a lower weight class and Crawford arguably has a better resume, Spence felt Bud was deserving of it. 

“I don’t like it because he won off me, but Terence Crawford should have won the [2023] Fighter of The Year,” Spence added

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