Errol Spence retired a short time ago earlier on after been defeated by Tim Tszyu in Australia in their 160 pounds match up.
Tszyu defeated Spence on points by unanimous points decision.
Spence called it time on his boxing career but where does he rank among some of the other US welterweights and champions in history?
Let’s take a look:
Errol Spence Jr. – His Place
- Peak: Beat Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Mikey Garcia, and Danny Garcia.
- Undefeated until Crawford stopped him in 2023.
- Came back after 3 years and lost wide to Tim Tszyu in 2026.
- Retired immediately after.
- Verdict: Very good unified champion, but not an all-time great. No way.
American Welterweights Clearly Above Spence
- Sugar Ray Robinson – The best ever, period.
- Henry Armstrong – Held three divisions at once; non-stop pressure.
- Sugar Ray Leonard – Beat Hearns, Duran, and Benitez.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Beat Pacquiao, Canelo, Mosley, and never lost.
- Pernell Whitaker – Defensive genius; beat Chavez, Ramirez, McGirt.
- Thomas Hearns – Fearsome puncher; beat Cuevas, Benitez, Duran.
- Carmen Basilio – Beat Robinson twice at welterweight.
- Barney Ross – Beat McLarnin in a legendary trilogy.
American Welterweights Just Above or Around Spence
- Donald Curry – Beat McCrory, Starling, and was undisputed in the 80s.
- Emile Griffith – Beat Paret, Fullmer, and Benvenuti; 3-time reign.
- Marlon Starling – Beat Honeyghan and Breland; two separate reigns.
- Curtis Cokes – Beat Griffith and Rodríguez; long 1960s reign.
- Mark Breland – Olympic gold; beat Starling in his prime.
Other Notable Americans (Spence fits in this group)
- Billy Graham – Beat Gavilan; gave Robinson hell.
- Johnny Bratton – Beat Gavilan once; 1950s fan favorite.
- Tony DeMarco – Brawler; held the title briefly.
- Virgil Akins – Beat DeMarco and Gavilan; solid but short peak.
- Hedgemon Lewis – Beat Cokes for the top spot.
- Randy Shields – Fought Leonard and Benitez to close decisions.
Spence’s Own Era (for comparison)
- Terence Crawford – Clearly above Spence (stopped him cold).
- Shawn Porter – Below Spence; lost to him fair and square.
- Keith Thurman – Below Spence; beat Garcia and Porter but avoided him.
- Danny Garcia – Below Spence; lost to Keith Thurman and Porter.
Final One-Liner
- Spence ranks roughly #16–#25 among all-time American welterweights.
- Not top 10 – the legends are untouchable.
- Not top 15 – Curry, Griffith, Starling, and Cokes have better resumes.
- Comfortably top 25 – the Porter win and long unbeaten run count for a lot.
- The Tszyu loss drops him a few spots but doesn’t erase his peak.
Look, all in all, you would have to say Errol Spence is a top 20 welterweight from the US of all time.
There has been some great welterweights from the US, as you can see, above.
PBC’s main fighters and stars of the past look more and more done now all the time.
Keith Thurman got ended by Sebastian Fundora recently.
Now Errol Spence got ended by Tim Tszyu tonight.
Premier Boxing Champions look on their way to being done in boxing rapidly now with little new stars or prospects coming through.
Despite new stars and prospects breaking through in world boxing all the time.
Check out our latest boxing news.