Errol Spence Jr Confirms His April Return With Keith Thurman Potentially Being Lined Up

Last Friday, Errol Spence Jr. announced his comeback after a 12-month hiatus to defend his unified welterweight titles in April, and it is likely that his opponent will be the former WBA/WBC 147 lb champion, Keith Thurman.

Errol Spence Jr Confirms His April Return With Keith Thurman Potentially Being Lined Up

Spence, who is 32 years old, has been determined not to make amends with Thurman because he still holds a grudge against the Floridian for not agreeing to fight him in 2017.

Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) would likely prefer not to fight for his IBF, WBA and WBC titles against Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs). However, if he wishes for a considerable amount of pay-per-view buyers on Showtime, then he has no other option but to fight him.

April Xx

— Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) December 30, 2022

Without Thurman’s tireless effort to get the word out, Spence’s future pay-per-view bout will bring in a disappointing amount of viewers, hindering his capacity to make himself the primary negotiator with WBO 147 lb titleholder Terence Crawford.

Meanwhile, Errol is unwilling to face the unsafe yet untested Jaron Ennis in April, not just because of the risk of defeat but also because the viewership that ‘Boots’ would drive is unknown.

Thus, Spence needs to bring Keith Thurman. Thurman has been on hiatus since his win against Mario Barrios in February 2020 in Sin City.

It is uncertain why Thurman hasn’t competed since then, but it is likely that he has been waiting for a championship bout given to him by Spence or Crawford.

Five years ago, Thurman was the top welterweight contender in the division, yet he has been largely inactive due to a combination of injuries and a lack of enthusiasm.

Since 2017, Thurman has had three bouts, with victories against Josesito Lopez and Mario Barrios and a loss to Manny Pacquiao. So a potential Spence and Thurman contest could be just what the fans need.