Errol Spence Jr. successful in ring return against Danny Garcia, wins by UD

Welterweight champion boxer Errol Spence Jr. returned from a terrible car accident in top form to beat Danny Garcia by unanimous decision. 

In October of 2019, WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. survived a horrific car accident. In the ring for the first time since the crash, Spence saw his hand raised in victory over Danny Garcia.

It’s nothing short of a miracle that Spence avoided suffering serious injuries after crashing at high speeds. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from his sports car. Spence lost teeth and had numerous facial lacerations, but he lived. His accident put things into perspective.

“I have a renewed focus. I’m back focused on the things that got me to the top of the mountain,” said Spence during the final press conference. “That’s really about being back in the gym every day no matter what. I’m not just going to be in the gym when it’s fight time. We’re grinding hard every day.”

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) looked to be in the best shape of his life against the former two-division world champion Garcia. It took a lot of courage for Spence to agree to fight Garcia for his first fight back. Garcia once held the WBC title, and a win against Spence would have reunited him with the belt. Spence wasn’t having it.

Spence walked forward and jabbed for most of round 1. He threw his left hand several times in the second half of the round, and they mixed it up a bit. It was a nice start for Spence, who was out of the ring for 15 months.

Spence continued to walk Garcia down in round 2. Spence landed a meaningful left cross, but Garcia connected with a strong left hook after the bell.

Garcia tripped over Spence’s lead leg in round 3 and went down but got up just fine. He ate a thudding Spence left shortly after but took it well. Garcia started to target Spence’s body while Spence focused upstairs.

Errol Spence Jr. applied pressure to Danny Garcia all night and imposed his will

Rounds 4 and 5 were patient and competitive. A chess match started to unfold as both men looked for openings and traded body punches. They weren’t easy to score, but Spence looked slightly busier.

The fight followed that pattern until round 7. Spence and Garcia fought in a telephone booth. They eventually found some separation and traded from the outside. Spence got the better of the action, but an accidental headbutt caused a mark on Spence’s forehead.

Garcia scored well to the body in round 8. It didn’t faze Spence, who kept moving forward. He pinned Garcia on the ropes, and you could feel the tide building in Spence’s favor, but he mostly coasted through rounds 9 and 10. Spence elected to box Garcia and relented on his pressure.

In round 11, Spence started to re-engage Garcia as he did in round 8. He kept Garcia on his back foot and hooked to the body. Garcia fought back but was too passive.

Spence also won the 12th and final round. Garcia fought monotonously and couldn’t put together his power punches. Spence’s elite boxing took Garcia out of his game, which is why Spence is one of the world’s best boxers.

The judges returned two scores of 116-112 and one of117-111, all for Spence, giving him his fifth successful title defense. Garcia didn’t fold, but Spence proved that he’s just a notch better.

Spence answered the questions about his physical condition since his car accident. He’s still a premier boxer, and now the boxing world wants to see if a unification bout can be made with WBO champion Terence Crawford. Crawford was in attendance. Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come.