Editor’s note: This is the second in a six-part series. Boxing junkie will reveal one year-end award each day through Dec. 30. Today: Comeback of the Year.
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COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
ERROL SPENCE JR.
SPENCE’S ABILITY TO SURVIVE AND THEN BOUNCE BACK FROM AN ACCIDENT THAT COULD’VE TAKEN HIS LIFE WAS REMARKABLE
Errol Spence Jr. could’ve been killed.
The welterweight champion’s speeding car hit a median and flipped multiple times, throwing him through the windshield, in the early morning hours of Oct. 10 in his hometown of Dallas. No one who saw the video of the crash, which went viral, will forget it.
The fact he was able to survive is miraculous. The fact he was able to fight again at his accustomed level was something beyond that.
Spence, who suffered only superficial injuries, was back in the gym a few months after the accident. A few months after that he was able to spar, which allowed him to test his body’s ability to absorb punishment and overcome any mental scars resulting from the crash.
Things went so well that he never really entertained the idea of facing a second-tier opponent in a comeback fight. He went straight to Danny Garcia, one of the best in the division.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03UHNuCmBFk
Thus, we all got to see whether he would be the dominating Spence of old or a somehow diminished version of that fighter. The former showed up for the fight on Dec. 5 at AT&T Stadium, in his backyard.
Spence outboxed and outworked Garcia to win a wide decision, retain his 147-pound titles and remove any doubt that he was fully recovered from an accident that still leaves us shaking our heads.
“It’s surreal, man,” he said immediately after the fight. “It’s a dream of mine, especially after my accident, coming back after a year and half layoff. I think I looked pretty good [even though] I got a little tired, I shook off the cobwebs.
“I’ll be ready to fight again in the summer time.”
It was a special comeback.
Runner up: Roman Gonzalez.
Tomorrow: Upset of the Year
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