By: Hans Themistode
There’s a loud and consistent thud that can be heard in the confines of a Dallas gym. As that deafening noise continues, Errol Spence Jr. sweats profusely as he blasts away at the heavy bag with head trainer Derrick James standing closely by his side.
For the past several months, Spence Jr.’s nonstop training regime, he believes, has been necessary as he inches closer toward his ring return. On April 16th, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Spence Jr. will attempt to defend his unified welterweight throne when he takes on WBA champion, Yordenis Ugas.
Not to be outworked, Ugas has also endured an arduous training camp, as he looks to prove oddsmakers wrong. Though many believe it’s unlikely Spence Jr. will come up short, the Dallas native wants Ugas to receive all of the credit in the world should he come out victorious against him on April 16th.
“If I lose, it will be because he’s better than me,” said Spence Jr. on All Access. “It wouldn’t be just because I didn’t train 100% or I wasn’t focused.”
Spence Jr.’s need to turn up the intensity in his current training camp, comes from a sense of gratitude. Following a horrific car wreck in 2019, Spence Jr. was forced to spend well over a year on the sidelines. Once he returned, the unified star made it look incredibly against Danny Garcia, winning a lopsided unanimous decision in December of 2020.
One year later, Spence Jr. suffered another setback, this time, in the form of a detached retina in his right eye. Due to his latest injury, Spence Jr. was forced to withdraw from his then, upcoming bout against Manny Pacquiao.
With his injury woes now seemingly behind him, Spence Jr. is determined to prove that he is, in fact, the best fighter that the welterweight division has to offer. Currently, as Spence Jr. looks anxiously at the sand inside the hourglass, he believes that at the moment, he’s at his peak.
“I feel indestructible. I just feel like, another fighter can’t beat me.”