Errol Spence: 18 Powerful Things About The Welterweight Champion

Errol Spence

Errol Spence the well-known southpaw packs a lot of power, and has shown a real knack for inflicting early damage! This American professional boxer then pounces, putting his opponents away before some fans have even taken their seats. If you’re craving some cool facts about this boxer, this is the place to be! Check out our 18 facts about Errol Spence! 

Errol Spence: 18 Powerful Facts About The Southpaw

1. Quick Facts:

Record: 27-0-0   

KO:  21

KO Pct:  78% 

Alias:  The Truth   

WELTERWEIGHT   

Age:  31   

Height:  177cm/5 feet 9″    

Reach:  183cm/72″   

Stance:  Southpaw 

Debut:  November 09, 2012   

Born:  January 13, 1990   

Nationality:  USA   

Residence:  Desoto Texas USA   

Boxrec fighter ID:  629465   

2. Who is Errol Spence Jr?

American Professional Boxer Errol Spence Jr. is a Welterweight Champion, Public Figure, and Social Media Personality from Long Island, New York. This boxer is best known for being a unified welterweight champion. The boxer held the title of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title since May 2017 and also bagged the title of the World Boxing Council (WBC) in September 2019. Furthermore, he once grabbed the attention of the public & media after winning the United States national championships three-time continuously. The boxer was able to do all this during his amateur career in the welterweight division.  One of the most successful things Spence Jr. did was perform at the 2012 Olympics and represented his country, The United States of America. However, the American boxer was only able to reach the quarter-finals in the competition. In October 2019, the sportsman was ranked as the world’s 5th best active boxer by BoxRec and 6th by The Ring magazine. Earlier, in 2015, Spence was dubbed as the Prospect of the Year by ESPN. On October 10, 2019,  Errol Spence Jr survived a horrible accident while driving his white Ferrari car. He was seriously injured and according to the official reports, the American boxer was ejected from his Ferrari during a rollover crash in downtown Dallas, Texas. 

3. Jamaican Heritage: 

The American boxer is of Jamaican descent through his father and African American descent through his mother. 

On September 26, the welterweight champion shared a family photo on Instagram and wrote, 

“I Keep my mom & pops close all this could end today and I know their love won’t change God forbid anything would happen but I know my mother & father would wipe my ass & feed me if need be moral of the story keep the PEOPLE who really love you for you close an treat them right‼ (don’t get caught up in the hype)??? #tbt #jamamerican #jamaica.”

He posted a throwback photo showing him as a boy with a slingshot and wrote, “in Jamaica with my cousin shooting people, chickens & goats.”

4. Car Crash: 

Two years ago, the boxer was involved in a single-vehicle accident at 2:53 AM on October 10, 2019, and was hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

According to Dallas police, the welterweight champion’s Ferrari 488 Spider was “traveling at a high rate of speed” and then “veered left over the center median onto the southbound lanes and flipped multiple times, ejecting the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt.”

Spence sustained facial lacerations, but no broken bones.

Earlier in the night, the boxer had been drinking alcohol.

The welterweight champion was released from the hospital six days later and was charged with a DWI, a class-B misdemeanor by the Dallas Police Department. The boxer’s father “Errol Spence Sr.” and mother “Debra Spence” ran to the hospital in the middle of the night after they heard about their sons’ accident at 3 a.m. 

In addition, this boxer was in the intensive care unit at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. 

He posted on Instagram “No broken bones I’m a savage!!” but quickly erased this post after receiving backlash. The boxer’s fans stated he was lucky to be alive and posted that he could have seriously hurt others due to his drunk driving. 

Errol Spence was eventually convicted of the DWI charge. He avoided jail time and instead received probation

5. He’s a DeSoto native:

Professional boxer, Errol Spence Jr. came into this world on the 3rd of March 1990 in Long Island, New York, United States.  Though he was actually born in Long Island, he made his way down to the Cedar Hill-DeSoto area when his parents moved his family from New York. He was two years old at the time according to an interview on 105.3 FM The Fan’s “GBag Nation”.

In the same interview, the welterweight champion said he doesn’t feel like he represents either Cedar Hill or DeSoto individually. He feels like he represents Dallas as a whole.

So yes, Errol Spence Jr’s family originally hails from DeSoto, Texas. 

His father Errol Sr. worked as a FedEx contractor and was even involved in Spence Jr.’s boxing career from the start. On the other hand, Errol Spence Jr’s mom used to work as a postal worker.  

6. Errol Spence made Dallas history:

Since the Texas native defeated Kell Brook to claim the welterweight championship, he is only the third boxer ever from Dallas County to hold a world title.

If you look comparatively, Welterweight Curtis Cokes remains Dallas’ lone undisputed world champion. Curtis reigned in the late 1960s. Quincy Taylor won the WBC middleweight title in August of 1995 but soon surrendered it in his first title defense seven months later.

7. Errol Spence’s nickname:

His nickname is “The Truth.” Here’s what the told 105.3 FM The Fan’s “GBag Nation” on how he got it:

The welterweight champion’s nickname started from a commentator. The commentator was announcing the ring in the Golden Gloves. He just started calling me The Truth. And then there was a heckler in the crowd every time that I won and he was yelling ‘The Truth! Truth! Truth!’ every fight. It was like five days in a row. And people started calling me that.

“Then when I turned pro I just started calling myself The Truth.”

8. According to an interview with Q&A with SportsDay, this is what Ali meant to him:

The welterweight champion said:

“Muhammad Ali was an icon and he revolutionized [boxing]. Ali was a great fighter, an Olympic gold medalist, and someone that I look up to. He was the first fighter I knew because my dad used to talk about him and listen to him on the radio station all the way in Jamaica when he was a kid. He’s the greatest fighter of all time.”

9. Errol Spence’s Olympic controversy:

According to ESPN, the welterweight champion competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, which turned out to be the first Olympic games in history where the American team did not win a medal

The boxing champion ended up losing to eventual bronze-medal winner Andrew Zamkovoy, but that isn’t where the controversy was. It was the fight before that one where he defeated Krishan Vikas.

Here’s how SportsDay’s Barry Horn says it happened:

“Spence won his first bout hours after he left the ring when an appeals board actually overturned the judges’ decision, which originally handed the victory to a clutch-and-grabber from India.”

10. Here is how Errol Spence got into boxing:

Errol Spence Sr., who is a now-retired FedEx contractor, is responsible for getting his son into boxing. 

The U.S. Olympian prior to becoming the 147-pound world welterweight champ hailed from DeSoto, Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, his dad Spence Sr. is a “now-retired FedEx contractor.” 

Errol Spence said his dad was integrally involved from the start, carefully picking his coaches, the newspaper reported.

According to ESPN an interview with Spence says, “It really wasn’t my choice. I came home from school and 20 minutes later we pulled up to a boxing gym. He didn’t tell me where we were going. What’s going on? We going to pick up something? And then we’re in a boxing gym and he’s asking the coach when can I start, and I started the next day.”

Soon after Errol Sr. discovered that his son preferred boxing to play football with the likes of fellow DeSoto athletes Von Miller and Cyrus Gray, the father began a search for the right laboratory and proper professor to teach the craft.

The boxer’s dad moved him from gym to gym in search of a serious atmosphere and coach who would give no quarter. Spence Sr. decided on a South Dallas gym and a then up-and-coming [trainder Derek] James, who often stopped in.

When the future Olympian was still an amateur, James was there to help him all the way to the U.S. Olympic team that battled at the 2012 London Games. And when the time came for Errol Jr. to turn pro, his smart father insisted the local remain the trainer after the father oversaw the selection of a nationally known management team being trained by powerbroker Al Haymon.

The boxer once told the Dallas Morning News that his father was influenced by Muhammad Ali, saying:

“Muhammad Ali was an icon and he revolutionized [boxing]. Ali was a great fighter, an Olympic gold medalist, and someone that I look up to. He was the first fighter I knew because my dad used to talk about him and listen to him on the radio station all the way in Jamaica when he was a kid. He’s the greatest fighter of all time.”

In another bio posted by Team USA for the Olympics, Errol was asked why he got into boxing and the boxer responded, “My dad and watching Oscar de la Hoya.”

The 5-10 Texan started boxing in 2005 and revealed his biggest strength in the ring is “speed.” His career highlights at that time were listed as “2009, 2010, 2011 USA National Champion, 2009 and 2010 National Golden Gloves Champion.” The boxer credited his mother with being his biggest influence, though, in that article.

11. Errol Spence knew he could really hit after this event:

The Olympian once spoke to Showtime Sports’ Mark Kriegel and said that he realized he could really hit when he hit a guy so hard he knocked him out and his rival said he couldn’t move his legs.

“I was like, ‘Man. I can crack.'” he told Kriegel. “… I hit him with a straight left. I mean, who doesn’t love knockouts? That’s the ultimate way to win in boxing.”

The American boxer also said he knew about his opponent’s legs because he was “yelling it out” to the referee and doctor.

“I kind of heard him from across the ring,” he said, with a huge smile on his face.

12. Errol Spence’s kids:

Spence Jr. was in a serious relationship and the 29-years-old player was a dad of three beautiful kids. 

He has a son and two daughters named Ivy and Violet Spence.  Violet was born in January 2017 and a proud Errol Spence posted a photo of his newborn girl on social media with a heartfelt message. Ivy, his second daughter was born in the year 2015.

According to an interview with premierboxtingchampions.com, The American boxer said that he had to scale back playing video games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, to take care of his girls: 

“The baby wakes up when she wants to, cries when she wants to, don’t sleep,” he told the site. “It’s kind of different now, because I have to go by her hours sometimes. I’m loving it, though. I’m just enjoying the whole process of her being a baby.”

Maybe this is why Errol often used to upload his baby girl’s pictures on Instagram where he once garnered more than 600,000 followers.

In February 2019, he wrote of one of his daughters: “Never seen a 3yr old girl so ready go to the boxing gym my baby up ready for me to get to work.” In January 2017, he wrote on Instagram, “Thank God for blessing me with another healthy beautiful baby girl everybody say Hi to Violet Spence ??? #SpenceClan #MoreMotivation.”

The American boxer posted a photo of his grandmother embracing his daughter Ivy. In 2015, he wrote, “Got a lot to be thankful for this year. Most of all my #babygirl Ivy Marie. Already changed my life in a lot of ways. #SpenceClan #Thankful.”

Whether the babies’ mother is Spence’s girlfriend or his wife  is unclear as his social media pages don’t make that clear. The name of the mother of his children is not known either, and the boxer typically posts photos showing him alone with his kids. 

13. Errol Spence’s trainer Derrick James has been instrumental to his success:

The 31-year old’s trainer is a former professional boxer, Derrick James. 

Derrick James saw Spence when he was just a teenager fighting a local amateur card and quickly saw that Spence was doing the same thing “over and over” in the ring. He voiced his observation and Spence Sr. (who insisted his son join boxing) asked James if he could help his son’s game. The rest as they say is history.

Derrick James has been in Spence’s corner ever since he went pro and now boasts a perfect 22-0 record, going into his big bout with Lamont Peterson.

“He has a determination that is amazing,” his trainer said. “He was already a great natural athlete. I show him where he needs to go, and he adopts that and gets there his own way.”

14. Body Stats:

The well-built boxer Errol Spence has an athletic body built with perfect height matching his weight. He maintained his body a lot with daily exercise. He stands at a tall height of 5 ft 10 inches or (1.78 m). He has a balanced body weight of 68 kg(150 lbs). His eye color is dark brown and his hair color is also dark brown. His body measurements are 42-30-35 in. 

15. Amateur Career of Errol Spence: 

  • Errol bagged the U.S. National Golden Gloves in the year 2009. 
  • He also took home three consecutive national amateur welterweight championships from 2009 to 2011. 
  • Moreover, the boxer reached the quarter-finals at the 2011 World Championships, losing to Serik Sapiyev. 
  • The US Olympian lost in the quarter-finals of the 2012 London Olympics to Andrey Zamkovoy and turned professional shortly afterward.

16. Professional Career of Errol Spence:

  • Errol Spence began his professional career with the debut at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on 9th November 2012 when he was of the age 22.
  • The Texas native fought against 19-year-old Jonathan Garcia. 
  • The Olympian boxer then knocked Garcia down and out in the 3rd round.
  • The Texas native showed all of his power and skills and knocked out Richard Andrews at the Sports Arena in December 2012.
  • The American boxer fought eight times in 2013, being victorious in all of them, winning six inside the distance.
  • At the end of 2013, Errol had won all of his 10 professional fights, 8 of them by way of knockout.
  • On 27th June 2014, the Texas native made his Showtime television debut at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas where he defeated Javier Castro by TKO in the 5th round in 2014 and defeated Samuel Vargas by TKO in Round 4 of 10 in a Premier Boxing Champions in the year 2015.
  • The now 31-year-old was named the 2015 ESPN.com prospect of the year.
  • On 16th April 2016, the Olympian fought the biggest fight of his career against the former light-welterweight champion, Chris Algieri. 
  • Their battle was scheduled for 10 rounds. 
  • The end came when he delivered a left hook to Algieri’s face. 
  • The now 31-year-old became the first person ever to stop Algieri.
  • For the fight, Errol took home $225,000 whilst Algieri earned $325,000.
  • On 21st August 2016, the pro boxer fought against Leonard Bundu after which Spence reiterated his desire of becoming the IBF World Championship. 
  • The match was the highest TV audience for boxing in over 10 years in the United States.
  • On 27th May 2017, the welterweight champion dropped and eventually stopped Kell Brook to win the IBF welterweight.
  • On 20th Jan 2018, the welterweight champion dropped and beat Lamont Peterson with 161 punches.
  • On 30th April 2018, the welterweight champion knocked Ocampo defending his IBF title
  • On 16th Mar 2019, the welterweight champion retained the IBF welterweight title and won the WBC Diamond welterweight title against Mikey Garcia.
  • On 28th September 2019, the welterweight champion continued his history of winning every match as he again retained the IBF welterweight title and won the WBC welterweight title against Shawn Porter.
  • BoxingScene.com reported on 25th October that negotiations between the Texas native and Mikey Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) were progressing. 

17. Net Worth of Errol Spence:

The welterweight champion earned himself a handsome net worth as well as a considerable amount of salary from his present work. 

The boxer’s source of earning is from his boxing career which was estimated to make him have the worth of $4 Million back in 2019. One interesting career-high earning was $8 million: $3 million from his purse and the rest was from the PPV buys. 

This boxer has earned millions of dollars through his matches as in the match vs. Carlos Ocampo, he won $1.2 million and $1.22 million after he won the IBF belt from Brook. 

18. Other interesting facts:

  • As of August 2019, Errol Spence is noted as the World’s Fifth Best Active Boxer by BoxRec.
  • Spence has a knockout-to-win ratio of 80.8%.
  • At the age of 19, Spence won the “U.S. National Golden Gloves” in 2009.
  • As of 2021, Errol hasn’t lost any of the 26 matches that he has played till date. 
  • Errol Spence was involved in a serious car crash in Dallas 
  • He didn’t die after rolling his $300k Ferrari convertible in a spectacular crash 
  • The welterweight champion suffered only facial cuts and avoided any broken bones despite not wearing a seat belt. 
  • Security footage showed the then 29-year-old boxer rolling his white $300k Ferrari 488 Spider and being ejected onto the pavement. 
  • The welterweight champion was rushed to Methodist Dallas Medical Center after having broken teeth and facial lacerations. 
  • Errol Spence once told TMZ that he likes the food in strip clubs, saying, “Strip club food is the best.”

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