ARLINGTON, Tex. — Errol Spence Jr. flexed and grinned in front of a predominantly home crowd on Friday morning.
In his first weigh-in since suffering a detached retina last year, Spence comfortably cleared the weight limit for Saturday’s welterweight unification title fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Spence came in at 146.25 pounds. Fellow champion Yordenis Ugas also cleared the 147-pound limit, making the margin by a quarter of a pound.
The physique Spence showed on Friday is a testament to his increased dedication to the sport.
“There were accidents and injuries,” Spence said on a Showtime broadcast following the weight-in. “It made me understand that boxing is a lifestyle.”
Spence’s eye injury followed a severe car accident that left him in critical condition. The eye injury forced Spence to pull out of a 2021 bout against Manny Pacquiao, a future Hall of Famer, with less than two weeks until fight night. Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) stepped in as the replacement and upset Pacquiao to win the WBA belt.
Spence, who holds the WBC and IBF titles, is looking to hold three of the four belts in the welterweight division. The other belt belongs to WBO champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, a longtime nemesis whose name has been linked to Spence’s for years.
While the fight has often been discussed by both men during that span, Spence said he wants to face Crawford to get all four belts.
“I’m making a statement come Saturday night,” Spence told Showtime. “I want the knockout. I’m going to get the knockout. I’m going to get [Ugas’] belt. After that, it’s time to be the undisputed champion of the world.”
Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is headlining AT&T Stadium for the third time in four fights. In his previous appearance inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Spence beat Danny Garcia in December 2020 in his first bout since his car accident.