Unified welterweight world titleholder Errol Spence Jr., who was involved in a horrific, one-car accident in October, said Saturday night that he is healthy, has started training again and will be back in the ring in May or June.
In his first interview since the crash, Spence spoke about the accident and his boxing future during the Premier Boxing Champions on Fox telecast at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Spence was there rooting on his friend Jermell Charlo, who knocked out Tony Harrison in the 11th round of the main event to reclaim his junior middleweight world title.
"Everybody knows I've been in a horrible car accident, but I'm feeling good," Spence said. "I spent a lot of time with my family, my friends and my little girl and just enjoying the time with them while I've been off from boxing."
Spence crashed his Ferrari at a high speed in Dallas at around 3 a.m. on Oct. 10. Spence, 29, of the Dallas suburb DeSoto, Texas, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the car, which eventually flipped over several times.
Spence, who was transported to the hospital and initially in IC, was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.
"I don't remember too much, but I can't really talk about the case," Spence said. "I've been advised by my lawyer because there's still a pending case going on, so out of respect, I choose not to talk about it."
Spence did not suffer any broken bones or fractures but did suffer facial lacerations and broken teeth.
When the accident happened, Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) was just 2½ weeks removed from scoring the biggest victory of his career on Sept. 28, when he won a split decision versus Shawn Porter to unify two 147-pound world titles in a pay-per-view headliner at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The fight was an action-packed contender for fight of the year.
"I'm fighting around May, June, so I'll be back real soon," Spence said. "I already started training last week, and I'm feeling good. I hit the mitts and everything and ran, too. I'm feeling good, so I can continue training.
