Friday, April 26, 2024  |

News

Aficianado

Commentary: Errol Spence Jr., a Ferrari and a higher power

Photo by Amanda Westcott/Showtime
Fighters Network
11
Oct

It will be a day, or a night, that will live in infamy . . . but really, if you want to drill down, it should, maybe, be looked back upon as a night when fate smiled upon Errol Spence Jr.

“The Truth” played rock ’em sock ‘em robots with his Ferrari, apparently, as he stepped too hard on the gas. He lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over and over and over again, literally ejecting Spence, who was not wearing a seatbelt.

And maybe that actually saved him. The IBF and WBC welterweight titleholder was not attached to the vehicle as it almost disintegrated in a handful of seconds.

But wait, the fighter didn’t so much as bust a bone – is that even humanly possible?



Yes . . . Mr. Spence dodged a big bullet in the early morning of Oct. 10, and we think, and believe, that he sustained no lasting damage.

If that press release is spot on, and the DeSoto, Texas native “did not sustain any broken bones or fractures, but has some facial lacerations” and “is expected to make a full recovery”, then he just might be finding himself believing that much harder in a higher power.

How did he not die? You have to ask that question upon viewing the video of the collision that is now doing the rounds.

Some of you are saying that Spence doesn’t deserve pats on the pack, because he was out late. (Also, if the pre-lim report floating around that he may have been imbibing before driving has folks pointing accusatory fingers at him.) To that I say, I hear ya, but also, let ye without sin.

I am not condoning anyone imbibing and driving, and if he was doing that . . . or even if he was recklessly speeding, no bueno.

But most of us don’t have that unblemished record to look back upon. Many of us have a couple of youthful indiscretions that we can point to, and we recall – or maybe only dimly because maybe we were sauced up – dodging a bullet or three.

Yeah, let ye without sin cast the stone. I am not minimizing the seriousness of this incident or glossing over improprieties if they contributed to the crash, but what say we use this as a teaching experience? To anyone thinking about getting behind the wheel while not in their best state or looking to approximate the Nascar speed-racers on public roads . . . don’t.

And I am hoping and thinking Spence understands just how fortunate he is, and that the incident helps him achieve a reset.

His two little girls very easily could have been left adrift. They aren’t and that is a major blessing.

 

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES. 

 

SIGN UP TO GET RING NEWS ALERTS