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It’s really not looking good for the former welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.! The 34-year-old southpaw from Long Island, New York, was supposed to square off against WBC and WBO super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora on March 29 in Las Vegas. However, according to a report from ESPN, that’s not happening anymore. 

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The fight was originally planned to unfold in October 2024, but following a series of delays, the fight was pushed to 2025. Regardless, the latest reports have revealed that Fundora is now seeking a different opponent as his first title defense since snatching them from under Tim Tszyu via a close split decision in March last year. 

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Some sources say super welterweight contender Charles Conwell might be the one on Fundora’s radar. Regardless, this has left Spence out of options, as ring rust continues to build up. ‘The Truth’ hasn’t fought since his one-sided loss to former undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford in July 2023. 

And now, fellow welterweight boxer and the WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis has cast even more doubts about Spence’s return to the ring as two years outside the ring inches closer. While appearing in an interview with YSM Sports Media a while back, the reporter probed Stanionis about his desire to potentially fight Spence Jr. and his prediction about it. 

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USA Today via Reuters

“I think it’s hard because he [hasn’t] been active for a long time,” Stanionis said. The Lithuanian boxer even highlighted that Spence is getting closer each day to his retirement, adding that Spence hasn’t fought in over one and a half years. “It’s [a] long time you know. It’s boxing, you can always risk if s**t happens,” he said.

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Giving props to Spence for being a good fighter, Stanionis revealed that he once got close to landing a fight against Spence. “With [Yordenis] Ugas I was thinking, I’ll beat Ugas. I get my title and then I can fight with Spence but it didn’t happen,” he told YSM Sports Media. Stanionis also claimed he even favored fighting Spence over Crawford.

However, with the uncertainty the sport presents, nothing ever came of it. While Spence’s future is lost in ambiguity, the former champion himself has shared an update on his career. 

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Errol Spence Jr. comes clean about his future in boxing

With the Fundora fight in the gutters, Spence doesn’t seem to have any other options left on the table. Following his loss to Crawford, he had the opportunity to activate his rematch clause, but he decided not to. Even if he has changed his mind on the matter now, Crawford has exited the division, looking for a fight against Canelo Alvarez

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Interestingly, the latest reports suggest Crawford might just get that blockbuster fight after all thanks to Saudi Boxing Chief Turki Alalshikh. However, Spence is still left empty-handed with nothing to show for the last 18 months of inactivity. Regardless, after the Fundora fight got canceled, he hopped on X to write, “I’ll be back when IM ready.”

That being said, Spence’s return to the ring seems like a destined dream now. While he still has some years left, one has to wonder whether the Crawford fight was his last. Stanionis seems to think Spence’s return is difficult. What about you? 

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Written by

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Sudeep Sinha

4,781 Articles

Sudeep Sinha is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the storylines around the sport's biggest events and names. He previously spent over two years writing in the Boxing department, where his fight-night coverage was featured on Sports Illustrated, Daily Mail, and Yahoo Sports, including his reporting on Ryan Garcia's career arc. On the golf beat, Sudeep covers tour news, player form, and the season-long storylines that shape the men's and women's game, from majors to the ongoing shifts in how professional golf is structured. That same appetite for detail that made his boxing coverage stand out now shows up in how he breaks down a swing change or a schedule shakeup for hardcore and casual fans alike. Outside work, he splits his time between reading, cycling, and following combat sports.

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Garima Yadav

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