Spence will return against Tim Tszyu on July 25 in Australia. While many observers focused on the damage of his 2023 loss to Terence Crawford and the years he spent outside the ring, Prograis believes another factor could be just as important.
“If he’s already said it, one foot out, it’s going to be hard to come back,” Prograis told The Punch Podcast. “What makes you fall in love again? What makes you obsess over it again? When you’ve already done everything?
“Tim Tszyu, they don’t fight for a belt. They don’t fight for what? Just a lot of money. If you do it for the money, it’s always the wrong reason.”
Prograis pointed out that Spence has already accomplished more than most fighters ever will, making it difficult to know if the former welterweight champion can regain the mindset that helped him become one of boxing’s elite names.
“The old Errol Spence man was a killer, bro. People forget how good Errol Spence really was. Errol was a dog at one point. He really was a real killer in the ring,” Prograis said.
“If old Errol comes back, I think I got Errol Spence through a landslide.”
Prograis also noted that age eventually catches up with every fighter, regardless of talent.
“The speed leaves you. The speed will leave you. Power always be there,” Prograis said. “The reflexes, they leave. That’s the most important thing you need in boxing. The reflexes, the foot speed, the hand speed.”
Spence’s inactivity has often been linked to the Crawford loss, but Prograis suggested motivation may be the bigger question. Fighters who still need titles, money or recognition usually find their way back quickly. Spence already has all three.
Therefore, his fight with Tszyu may reveal less about what Crawford took from him and more about whether boxing gives him something else worth pursuing.
