Errol Spence Jr. Biography

Errol Spence Jr., nicknamed The Truth, was born on March 3, 1990, in Long Island, New York, US, to Errol Spence Sr. and Debra Spence. While Spence has Jamaican roots through his father, he is of African-American origin through his mother. He has spent most of his life in Dallas, Texas.

Spence was 15 when he was introduced to boxing by his father. Spence apparently did not have much to do that summer, and his father thus took him to a boxing gym.

In fact, as a child, Spence grew up watching boxing with his father at their local barber shop. His father was a huge fan of the sport and of legendary boxer Lennox Lewis.

Spence also attended DeSoto High School for a while, which had a good football program. Spence had also played football for Cedar Hill, till 10th grade.

However, he decided not to pursue both football and boxing and thus chose boxing later. His father, too, got in touch with boxing coach Derrick James, who has trained Spence since his early days.

Errol Spence Jr. has shown his brilliance since his amateur boxing days. He won the 2008 International Amateur Boxing Association world championship. Following this, he bagged the US National Amateur Championship for 3 years: in 2009 in Denver and in 2010 and 2011 in Colorado Springs.

He also won the Golden Gloves welterweight gold in 2009 in Salt Lake City and the Golden Gloves welterweight silver in Little Rock in 2010. Spence also bagged the 2010 US National PAL Championship welterweight gold in San Antonio.

In the 2012 US Olympic trials, Spence bagged the 147-pound title. However, he lost in the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics.

In November 2012, Errol Spence Jr. made his professional debut and defeated Jonathan Garcia in the 3rd round, showcasing his knock-out ability. He then defeated 6 of his 7 opponents by knock-out, 5 of them in the 1st round itself.

In June 2014, he beat Ronald Cruz in Las Vegas. Spence reportedly won the 10-round fight by a unanimous decision.

Spence followed this up with his win over Noe Bolanos in round 2 of their bout in Las Vegas in September 2014. He thus started his streak of 11-straight knock-outs. A round-5 technical knockout (TKO) of Francisco Javier Castro in December 2014 completed Spence’s 5-0 mark that year.

In 2015, Spence won in bouts against Samuel Vargas, Chris van Heerden, Phil LoGreco, and Alejandro Barrera. He continued to dominate in 2016, scoring 3 knockdowns in a round-5 TKO of former 140-pound (light welterweight) champion Chris Algieri in April that year. He also won by in a round-6 knock-out against Leonard Bundu in August that year. The telecast of the match averaged 4.8 million viewers, with a peak of over 6.3 million, biggest TV audience for any boxing match in 18 years.

In May 2017, Errol Spence Jr. traveled to Sheffield, England, where he defeated English boxer Kell Brook. Spence thus won the 147-pound IBF (welterweight) title. He followed this with wins against Carlos Ocampo in June 2018 and against Mikey Garcia in March 2019.

One of his best-known bouts has been against American boxer and former WBC World Welterweight Champion Shawn "Showtime" Porter in September 2019. The match, held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, was telecast live as a pay-per-view match on FOX Sports. Spence won the match by a 12-round split decision, thus retaining the IBF welterweight title and winning the WBC welterweight title.

Though he faced a horrific car accident in October 2019, Spence went back to the gym in March 2020, stunning everyone with his speedy recovery. His first fight after his return was against American boxer and 2-division champion Danny "Swift" Garcia in December 2020, at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. It was a FOX Sports pay-per-view headliner. Spence won in the 12-round bout and thus retained the WBC and IBF welterweight titles.

He then beat Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugás in April 2022, in Texas, US. By winning this bout, Spence not just retained the WBC and IBF welterweight titles, but also won the WBA (Super) welterweight title.

Errol Spence Jr. is dating a lady named Debra, though not much is known about her, as she is quite secretive about her life. The couple has 2 daughters, Ivy and Violet, and a son, Errol Spence III. Debra is an entrepreneur and owns an online clothing boutique named Shop Ashra.

On October 10, 2019, Spence was involved in a deadly single-vehicle accident. He was apparently thrown from his car, while traveling at a high speed in Dallas, Texas. The car itself flipped multiple times and crashed into a utility pole.

He had apparently been drinking alcohol the previous night. He survived miraculously but sustained facial lacerations. After being released from the hospital 6 days later, he was charged with a DWI by the Dallas Police Department.

The accident and the birth of his son changed him as a person. Spence began focusing on his family and soon moved from his downtown Dallas high-rise apartment to settle in his new home on a 60-acre rural suburban property, where he owned cattle, horses, and goats. He also learned to ride horses.

Spence is known for his love of fast cars and has a collection of luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari and a Lamborghini.

Despite being a fierce competitor in the boxing ring, Spence is known to have a soft spot for animals and regularly volunteers at animal shelters in his hometown.