Former IBF and WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. finally caught a break. The Texas native hasn’t seen action in over a year, but now, his path to the WBC and WBO super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora has been cleared—thanks to interim WBO super welterweight champion Terence Crawford. 

You see, the thing is, after suffering a brutal loss at the hands of ‘Bud’ Crawford last year, Spence challenged Fundora after the latter defeated former WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu in Las Vegas. However, the WBO had recently ordered Fundora to defend his title against the Nebraska-born undefeated champion. 

Even Fundora’s team seemed to have turned their focus to the fight against Crawford. As a result, Spence’s future in the sport looked murky. However, that seems to have changed as acclaimed journalist Mike Coppinger shared an update on the situation earlier today on social media.

ESPN’s Coppinger wrote on X, “Ahead of tomorrow’s WBO deadline, Terence Crawford and Sebastian Fundora reached a resolution to allow Fundora to proceed with a voluntary defense with the understanding the junior middleweight title unification will be explored afterward.” With this update, Spence is now cleared to fight Fundora in early 2025, as they had planned previously. 

It’s also worth noting that if Fundora can make Spence Jr. taste defeat for a second time in his career, a much bigger and hyped-up fight against Terence Crawford would be waiting for Fundora in late 2025. Regardless, Coppinger also claimed, “Spence and Fundora already struck a deal and with the WBO obligation now cleared, the fight is expected to land in Texas in early 2025.”

While the fight finally got the green light from the WBO, for some time, things didn’t look good for ‘The Truth.’ Perhaps these encouraging words from this former undisputed heavyweight champion kept Spence motivated. 

Mike Tyson suggests Errol Spence Jr. should fight again

Back in September this year, Mike Tyson, who is slated to make his comeback to boxing after over a decade against Jake Paul, advised Spence Jr. to move forward after his defeat to Crawford by stepping back in the ring. Spence suffered a 9th-round TKO loss to Crawford in July last year and is yet to make a comeback.

However, Tyson believes the loss, as brutal as it was, doesn’t diminish Spence’s potential in the sport. “The sky’s the limit, man. That doesn’t mean nothing,” Tyson said on the Come And Talk To Me podcast. “A loss to somebody like that means nothing. He can still make a lot of money if he returns.”

It’s worth noting that there was talk of a rematch between Spence and Crawford, but due to cataract surgery, Spence had to put out those flames. Still, ‘Iron’ Mike encouraged him not to be discouraged, emphasizing life, like fighting, is full of losses. He added that the focus should be on taking care of family and treating the sport as a business. 

That said, the boxing world will be elated to learn that Errol Spence Jr. will soon make his much-awaited return to the ring against Sebastian Fundora. However, the question now is, can the former welterweight champion achieve his lost glory? Or his loss to Crawford will mark the start of his fall from grace?