Errol Spence Jr has undergone cataract surgery after claiming he went into his super-fight against Terence Crawford last year nursing an eye injury.
Spence was outclassed by Crawford when they finally locked horns back in July, with the latter dropping his bitter rival three times before eventually forcing the stoppage in round nine.
After years of demand, a matchup billed as one of the greatest in the sport’s modern history proved a surprisingly one-sided affair as Crawford cruised to becoming the first two-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
Yet just over five months on, Spence has claimed his brutal defeat was the result of both an eye injury that recently required surgery as well as the fact he ‘didn’t live exactly like a boxer’ in the lead-up to it.
On Monday the former unified welterweight champion shared a video of himself being wheeled out from his op wearing an eye patch on his Instagram story, before adding: ‘Had to get cataract surgery.. it’s been past due s**t was covering my eye.’
Errol Spence Jr has undergone cataract surgery after claiming he went into his super-fight against Terence Crawford last year nursing an eye injury
Spence was outclassed and stopped by Crawford when they finally locked horns back in July
But as well as revealing his eye injury, the beaten champion claims he ‘didn’t live like a boxer’ before his one-sided defeat
‘Why you think I got hit with so many jabs n hooks,’ he continued before adding about Crawford’s brilliance on the night: ‘Still a great performance by bro’.
Spence was quickly called out on X for what some fans felt were bitter excuses, with one writing: ‘He just way better than u one tricky pony @ErrolSpenceJr’.
The crestfallen fighter replied: ‘You might b right but one trick got Olympics, kids in private school, mom & pops retired yrs ago passport full of stamps & I don’t have to pick up a glove again if I don’t want to’.
Over four years since he suffered a near-fatal car crash, Spence has been urged to protect his faculties and bow out from the sport after his beating at the hands of Crawford. However, straight after the first defeat of his professional career he instead activated his contractual right to a rematch.
‘All that said you can kill the retire s**t tho,’ he continued on social media, ‘yea I got my a** beat s**t was past due [to the fact that] I didn’t live exactly like a boxer for the most part lol’.
Spence added: ‘They ask me did I want to do the presser showed up no glasses answered all the questions head up gave bra a hug for the a** whooping good s**t & dipped..’
Crawford soon got wind of his rival’s claims and responded by simply writing: ‘No comment.’
Crawford got wind of Spence’s claims and reacted with a blunt message on his X account
Spence has been forced to undergo eye surgery in the past, having pulled out of his scheduled bout with Manny Pacquiao in August 2021 to have an op on his left retina.
The Long Island-born star later revealed he probably would’ve been blinded if he went ahead with the fight against Pacquiao.
It remains to be seen when Spence’s shot at redemption against Crawford will go ahead, as well as the weight class it will take place at after the former claimed to be drained at 147lbs and seeking a move up to 154lbs.