“I mean, he wasn’t capping on it. Like I mean, in training camp, training camp was trash at the end of the day,” Spence said on Andre Ward’s channel.
He went on to reveal that he had not sparred for an extended period before the fight.
“Ask anybody who was in Vegas in that gym. They didn’t see me sparring. Ain’t nobody see me sparring. Baby, two weeks out, two, three weeks out, I didn’t spar six weeks out, brother,” Errol said.
Spence also disclosed that he was dealing with an injury during camp.
“I had to get a cortisone shot in my ribs because my ribs were hurting,” Spence said.
The comments prompted backlash on social media, with some accusing Spence of making excuses for the July 2023 loss. The 35-year-old later addressed the criticism directly.
Regardless Bud was disciplined & he deserved and earned his W…
— Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) June 16, 2026
Spence continued by explaining that there were tactical areas that had not been addressed during preparation for Crawford, who switched seamlessly between orthodox and southpaw stances throughout the bout.
“We ain’t do none of that in training camp,” Spence said when discussing Crawford’s southpaw stance. “It was a lot of stuff that could have been different or could have been prevented. Even if I wasn’t sparring like that, we could have prevented a lot of things that shouldn’t have happened.”
While Spence acknowledged shortcomings in his preparation, he stopped short of suggesting that Crawford’s victory was undeserved. Instead, his follow-up message emphasized that Crawford earned the win through discipline and execution on fight night.
Crawford dropped Spence three times before forcing a stoppage in the ninth round of their undisputed welterweight championship clash on July 29, 2023, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The victory made Crawford the first male fighter of the four-belt era to become undisputed champion in two weight classes.
Spence is scheduled to return to the ring on July 25 when he faces Tim Tszyu in a 158-pound catchweight bout in Australia. The contest will mark his first appearance since the defeat to Crawford and provide an opportunity to showcase the adjustments he says he has made to his preparation.
