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“I understand why people said, ‘I don’t think he’s coming back,’” Spence told Fight Hub TV during a recent media session. “I would think the same thing if I was on the outside looking in.”

If he acted like the vintage Massive Fish, it would seem delusional. At 36, given his physical fatigue, his only game is self-awareness.

An eye test conducted since 2018 confirms fans’ opinion that Spence is not the same. While he technically defeated Porter and Ugas, they weren’t the dominant, surgical performances we saw in matches against Ocampo or Lamont Peterson. He looked more like a towering guard, a brawler willing to eat three shots to take two.

This style worked well when he was younger and physically stronger, but in Terence’s case, his lack of head movement and leisurely reflexes made him look like a stationary target.

“I have more energy, I’m more alive, I’m better mentally and physically,” Spence said. “But don’t knock on anyone’s door. They should have reservations about me.”

Feeling “alive” while hitting pads or sparring with 18-year-olds in Dallas is a world away from the confused, high-pressure environment of world-class fighting. As you’ve noticed, he hasn’t had to operate his reflexes under fire in years. Mental clarity in a silent gym doesn’t always translate to mental clarity when Tim is hitting hefty shots in front of a clamorous Australian crowd.

The 2019 accident, the detached retina and the punishment for the Crawford fight create a debt that the body eventually repays.

You may have all the energy in the world at camp, but your chin and recovery ability don’t care about your attitude. When the first immaculate shot is fired in July, we will see whether this “energy” will continue or whether it will be just a byproduct of the long vacation.

It basically asks us to believe that “Massive Fish” was simply dormant and needed a reset. However, in boxing, three years off at the age of 36 usually means a retirement that has not yet been officially announced.

Ryan Garcia revealed his toughest opponent in 27 professional fights, surprisingly mentioning a fighter he beat the distance.

Most would suspect that the American’s “toughest fight” was against Gervonta Davis, who stopped “King Ry” with a sickening body shot in the seventh round during the 2023 meeting.

Alternatively, Rolando Romero gave Garcia a hard night to work with in May 2025 when he scored a second-round knockdown before winning a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.

Devin Haney was also a tough opponent when they collided in 2024, with Garcia taking a majority decision before testing positive for the banned substance ostarine.

As a result, his victory was ruled a no-contest, and Garcia completed a one-year suspension before returning to the ring against Romero.

Interestingly, the current WBC welterweight world champion does not consider Davis, Romero or Haney to be his toughest opponent.

Instead, the 27-year-old did it he told DAZN that his most demanding task was against Oscar Duarte, whom he ultimately stopped in the eighth round in 2023.

“My toughest fight was Oscar Duarte – the one that Richardson Hitchins ducked. I knocked him out, but he was tough.

Duarte was scheduled to face Hitchins in February, but the then-IBF super lightweight world champion withdrew from the fight on the morning of fight night.

This was reportedly caused by Hitchins’ disease while trying to keep his weight under 150 pounds in accordance with the IBF’s 10-pound hydration policy.

Although Duarte did not get another shot at the world title, he is now preparing for an all-Mexican clash with Angel Fierro, whose performance will be seen in Gilberto Ramirez’s match against David Benavidez on Saturday.

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The undefeated lightweight reacted immediately after commentator Sean Zittel linked Stevenson’s fight to other recent fights that he described as disappointing.

“I was too dominant but to say it wasn’t a real masterpiece. WOW,” Stevenson wrote on X, adding a laughing emoji to emphasize the sarcasm.

Zittel previously posted:
“I think both Shakur-Teofimo and Inoue-Nakatani were disappointing fights. They’re both great fighters, but neither was a true masterpiece.”

“Crawford-Canelo, Shakur-Teofimo, Inoue-Nakatani, Usyk-Fury, Bivol-Beterbiev. None of those fights were great.”

Zittel picked up on the growing frustration. Looking ahead to 2026, the approach to fencing matches is becoming a firm sell, especially for blue-collar workers who are spending their hard-earned cash on PPV.

Shakur had the skills to dominate Teofimo Lopez last January, but by choosing to never step on the gas, he drew boos from the fans at MSG. He felt like he was more afraid of failure than interested in winning substantial.

Usyk vs. Fury/Bivol vs. Beterbiev were billed as historic clashes, but the hefty emphasis on playing it unthreatening and neutralizing power rather than engaging left a sour taste. When the biggest names in sports settle for making a narrow decision, it drains the energy from the room.

The sport is losing ground to high-intensity formats because top athletes are too worried about their “0” to take the risk. If you’re paying $70, you don’t want to watch a guy jab and move for 36 minutes; you want a fight.

In the US market, this style comes with a literal price tag. Ordinary fans want to see “blood, smashed faces and broken bones,” as Turki Alalshikh said last year, not a 12-round encounter on the track.