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IBF, WBC welterweight world champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. outworked two-division champion Danny “Swift” Garcia for a unanimous decision win on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) put in an impressive performance in his hometown that saw him own a 187 to 117 advantage in punches landed, according to CompuBox. Spence controlled much of the action with his jab, landing 84 of them to slowly damage the left eye of his opponent.
The fight was the first for Spence since being injured in a serious automobile accident in the fall of 2019.
“The moment is surreal,” said Spence. “Coming back from the accident, I feel like I looked pretty good tonight. All training camp I felt good. I told people I didn’t want a tune-up fight. I proved to everyone that I’m the best 147-pound fighter in the world.”
Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs), known as a supreme counter puncher, picked his spots against the unrelenting attack from Spence, having occasional success with his counter right hook and body shots. However, Spence was the more accurate fighter, connecting on 26% of his shots to 17% for Garcia.
“Danny Garcia pushed me to the limit, especially in training camp,” said Spence. “I’ve watched him fight since he was an amateur. I knew he was a great champion and I had to be 100% ready.”
The two welterweight elites continued to fight hard and throw big punches to the last bell, but it was Spence out landing Garcia in each of the last six rounds. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 117-111 and 116-112 twice, all for Spence.
“I had a little bit of ring rust, but I was in such great shape and took everything seriously in training so that I would not be discouraged by that,” said Spence. “I worked my jab and used my angles because that was my best move. It’s been a long year and a half, so I’m going to wind down for a week or two, then get back on it. I proved that I’m back and I’m here to stay.”