Errol Spence Jr. hasn’t fought in nearly three years and hasn’t won a fight since 2022, but trainer Ronnie Shields believes the 36-year-old former unified welterweight champion will return better than ever when he faces Tim Tszyu on July 25.
“Everybody’s right saying he’s not going to be the same. He’s going to be better. So much better than he’s ever been,” Shields told Fight Hub TV. “His body is well rested. He feels very good. As you saw today, his punches are fluid, he’s strong, and his defense looks good.”
Shields said he put Spence through a demanding evaluation and was willing to tell him the comeback wasn’t worth pursuing if he didn’t like what he saw.
“The first thing I said to him was, ‘You’ve been training, right?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to put you through some hard workouts. It’s not going to be easy. I want six hard rounds, and then I’ll decide if I think we can continue.’ It was no problem.”
“I gave him a whole week,” Shields continued. “I said, ‘If I think you should continue, I’m going to let you know. If I don’t think you should continue, I’m going to let you know.’ After the first week, everything went well. He felt good. I put him through hard workouts, and he could handle it.”
Shields also dismissed the notion that Spence has sat on the sidelines for the past three years.
“He never stopped working. That’s the thing people don’t understand. They think he was off for three years. No, he wasn’t. He just kept working alone.”
Spence has not fought since suffering the first defeat of his professional career against Terence Crawford in July 2023. His last victory was against Yordenis Ugas in April 2022, when he unified the WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight titles. He faces former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu in a 158-pound catchweight bout in Sydney, Australia.
Asked how many fights Spence has left, Shields said the former champion is not looking beyond Tszyu.
“He said, ‘I just want to prove to myself that I can come back and do my best. That’s what it’s all about.’
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Last updated on 2026/06/25 at 21:38
