Boxer Errol Spence Jr. Flips Ferarri And Ends Up In ICU — Is He Ok?
He is injured by expected to recover.
Instagram Welterweight boxing champion Errol Smith Jr. is in a Dallas hospital after a car crash. Police report that he was driving his Ferrari when it crossed the median and flipped over several times, throwing him from the car. He was taken to the ICU but it is being reported that he is on his way to a full recovery.
The 29-year-old has been boxing professionally since he was 22 and is undefeated as a professional. He lives in Dallas, where he grew up, and is now raising his two daughters there. He recently won the biggest fight of his career when he won a split decision against Shawn Porter at the Staples Center in L.A.
Who is Errol Spence Jr? Read on for all the details.
1. Spence's early years
The Dallas Morning News reports that Spence was actually born on Long Island. His family moved to Dallas when he was two years old and he considers the city his home. He grew up in the Cedar Hill-DeSoto area but says he feels more like he represents Dallas as a whole when he competes.
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2. His boxing career
Spence started boxing as a kid and went pro at 22. He was undefeated in his early bouts and in 2015, he was named Boxing Prospect of the Year by ESPN. He is currently a unified welterweight champion, having held the IBF title since May 2017, and the WBC title since September 2019 and has never lost a match as a pro.
He has also won three consecutive United States national championships and represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics, where he reached the quarter-finals. He did not win a medal, however. No American boxers won that year, marking the first time in the history of the modern Olympics that the U.S. team won no medals.
3. His unusual nickname
Boxers often have nicknames that follow them for their careers. Spence is known as The Truth. While that might sound like there should be a story on par with George Washington and the cherry tree behind it, it was actually a moniker that a ringside announcer laid on him. “The nickname started from a commentator. He was announced in the ring in the Golden Gloves," Spence recalled. "He just started calling me The Truth. And then there was a heckler in the crowd every time that I won, and he was yelling ‘The Truth! Truth! Truth!’ every fight. It was like five days in a row. And people started calling me that. Then when I turned pro I just started calling myself The Truth."
4. His thoughts on The Greatest
No boxer can ignore the impact Muhammed Ali had on the sport so it makes sense that a rising star like Spence was asked about the Greatest. He learned about Ali from his father and has never stopped admiring him. "Muhammad Ali was an icon and he revolutionized [boxing]. Ali was a great fighter, an Olympic gold medalist, and someone that I look up to," Spence said in an interview with SportsDay. "He was the first fighter I knew because my dad used to talk about him and listen to him on the radio station all the way in Jamaica when he was a kid. He's the greatest fighter of all time."
5. A dad to two girls
Spence has two adorable little girls named Violet and Ivy and he shares frequent posts of the two of them, saying that his "babies keep [him] hungry". He doesn't talk about about their mother but Forbes reports that he is married.
His daughters are too cute for words.
6. A serious car accident
On October 10, Spence was in a one-car crash while he was driving his Ferarri in Dallas. "Errol was in an accident, and his parents are with him at the hospital," Premier Boxing Champions spokesman Tim Smith told ESPN. "The doctors are monitoring his condition, but his injuries are not life-threatening. We will have further updates as the doctors update his condition. We're all wishing the best for Errol."
The police said he had been driving very fast at around 3am when he crossed over the median and turned over. "The Ferrari veered left over the center median onto the southbound lanes and flipped multiple times, ejecting the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt," police said. Police were investigating the cause of the accident at that time.
7. Making a full recovery
Despite spending some time in the ICU, reps for Spence say that he's on his way to making a full recovery. "Spence is awake and responding and is listed in stable condition," his representatives said in a statement. "He didn't sustain any broken bones or fractures but does have some facial lacerations. He is expected to make a full recovery."
"He is currently resting with his family by his side," they went on to say. "They want to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes and are extremely grateful to the Dallas first responders who rushed to the scene to attend to Errol after the accident and the doctors who are taking care of him at the hospital."
We all hope Spence makes a speedy recovery.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.