Errol Spence Jnr’s late push to move his blockbuster against Tim Tszyu to the full middleweight limit has raised more than a few eyebrows across the boxing world.
For some of the sport’s biggest pundits, it’s also the latest sign the American superstar may already have “one foot out the door”.
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Only 11 days out from next Saturday’s Sydney blockbuster, Spence successfully requested the bout be increased from a 158-pound catchweight to the middleweight limit of 160 pounds.
While both camps have since played down the change publicly, the move has sparked plenty of chatter in boxing circles, with several top analysts believing all isn’t quite right inside Spence’s camp.
Among the most outspoken has been former world champ and respected DAZN analyst Sergio Mora.
Mora, who has previously warned Spence will face a “Mount Everest of problems” against Tszyu, believes the late weight change is simply another red flag.
“I think the writing’s on the wall,” Mora said on Boxing with Mannix and Mora.
“It’s going to end bad for Errol Spence, and I think I’ve been saying that and been consistent on this since we first started talking about this matchup.”
Mora argued ‘The Truth’ is treating the showdown as one final payday before retirement.
“Errol Spence is damaged goods, and this is the last payday for him…” he said.
“The reason he’s fighting in this old weight class is because this is a send-off goodbye payday fight for him.
“He doesn’t care about being disciplined. He doesn’t care about the responsibilities of a fighter and a champion. He doesn’t care about the promotion. He doesn’t care about the judges. He doesn’t care about flying to Australia to face an Australian fighter because he knows this is his last fight.
“It’s a goodbye send-off and a check – and that’s the reason he doesn’t care about the weight because he doesn’t care about his reputation…
“He’s got one foot out the door. He’s retired right now. I just think he’s collecting one more check to buy another farm or ranch in Texas, and then say goodbye to the sport.”
Errol Spence and Tim TszyuSource: FOX SPORTS
Sitting alongside Mora, veteran boxing journalist Chris Mannix agreed.
“I thought even before all this that it was a long shot that Errol Spence was going to be able to do anything,” said Mannix.
“Now, even though it’s just two pounds, I think if you can’t make 158, which is 11 pounds heavier than what you’ve been fighting at your entire career…
“If you have to ask to have this fight changed to 160… that is a very bad sign for Errol Spence, and I’m afraid that we’re going to get to the point where Tim Tszyu is just hunting him down in the ring.”
Mora and Mannix are not alone.
Respected trainer, and former world champ, Robert Garcia has also admitted the signs coming out of Spence’s camp left him asking plenty of questions.
While Garcia said he’d love to see Spence return to something resembling his best, he questioned whether the American can realistically be the same fighter after three years out of the ring.
“I’ve said it when the fight was made. ‘Did he take this fight because he knows he might not have much left?’” Garcia told Boxing Scene Today.
“Now that he’s not being able to make weight and has to push it to one to 160, a few pounds higher, that kind of tells me that that’s a problem.
“That looks like it’s going to be the problem. You know he didn’t do camp the way he’s supposed to. Maybe he couldn’t because his health is just or his body is just not responding anymore.
“It just just tells me that he had that problem and that he chose to fight Tim Tszyu because of that situation. He didn’t take a tune-up fight because he knew the tune-up fight might be the end of his career.”
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Yet not everybody sees the weight change as a negative.
Several pundits have suggested the move to 160 pounds could finally allow Tszyu to be the naturally bigger man. But former world champion Chris Algieri, who knows exactly how Spence feels inside the ropes, isn’t buying it.
Having gone five rounds with The Big Fish, Algieri believes Spence will still be the naturally bigger fighter when they square off in Sydney.
“I always thought Errol would be better at 160 anyway,” Algieri said.
“I fought Errol 10 years ago. He’s a big boy. He felt like a middleweight when I was in the ring. He’s the biggest guy I’ve ever been in a ring with. And if that’s the decision he’s making, then good for him.”
‘Just a regular fighter to me’ | 00:58
Former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi also reckons the extra weight could ultimately benefit both men.
“Errol at 160 might be a little bit a better fighter than he was when in smaller days, because he was just killing himself down to get the down to the weight,” said Malignaggi.
“We’ve heard some rumors of Tim going to 160 as well.
“So it might be a better fight at 160 in general.”
Whether the move proves to be a good move or a warning sign will finally be answered when Tszyu and Spence square off in Sydney in just under a week’s time.