Why is Spence called the Truth?

The man whom super WBA welterweight champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao will face in Las Vegas on Aug. 21 is called the Truth. Why isn’t exactly clear. In the American Old West, Chief Sitting Bull would’ve accused IBF/WBC ruler Errol Spence of “speaking with forked tongue” because it seems like he can’t distinguish between fact and fiction.

Take, for instance, Spence talking about himself. “I’m a shark and I don’t see a threat being around -- nothing but tuna fish and other things that can’t bite back so put me in deep water with sharks where I belong,” he once said. Then, after beating Shawn Porter, he barked, “I’m a dog, I do have a lot of grit and that I have that ability to take a shot then give a couple back.” Is he a shark or a dog? He can’t be both. When he survived a car accident in October 2019, Spence said, “I’m a savage” and walked out of the Methodist Dallas Medical Center claiming no problem. But why was he admitted to ICU and confined for six days? Dan Rafael, writing in The Ring Magazine, said “he was hospitalized with cuts, bruises and abrasions and had several teeth knocked out but fortunately, suffered no broken bones or significant injuries.” In another article, writer Bernard Fernandez said Spence “came away with nothing more than facial lacerations and head-to-toe soreness.” Spence said “it was a miracle from God.”

The truth was Spence was ejected from his two-seater white Ferrari that went over the center median near Interstate 30 in downtown Dallas and flipped to wind up a total wreck. The rear end was destroyed and part of the engine exposed. Spence was charged for driving “under the influence” and escaped death ironically by not wearing a seat belt. The impact of the crash threw him out of the car and if he had been strapped in, the probability was he would’ve been crushed to bits. Spence admitted that the accident was a wake-up call because before that, he had lost focus and lived on the fast lane, literally. “I was getting so high in weight between fights,” he said. “I wasn’t going to the gym. I was making a lot of money, going on vacation, going to Jamaica, hanging out so you get distracted. I’m not gonna say I’m more hungry but I am more focused than I’ve been in a long time so the accident was definitely a silver lining.”

In December last year, Spence returned to the ring to battle Danny Garcia in Arlington, Texas. It was his first appearance since the accident. Spence, a 2012 Olympic quarterfinalist, turned it into a tactical fight, repeatedly switched styles and kept Garcia off-balance. “Spence periodically changed tactics over the second half of the fight, circling the ring, jabbing and moving before reverting to taking the fight to Garcia,” wrote Jack Hirsch in Boxing News. “With the bout winding down, Spence inexplicably went for broke, engaging Garcia in a wild exchange.” The judges had no difficulty choosing the winner with scores of 117-111 twice and 116-112 for Spence. Some ringsiders said Spence wasn’t the same fighter that he was with a mean streak before the accident and appeared tentative occasionally. But the truth was he won convincingly and that’s no lie.

Whether Spence enters the ring to meet Pacquiao like a shark or a dog, there won’t be denying the real truth staring at him right in the face. For the record, Spence isn’t the first athlete to call himself the Truth. Obviously, originality isn’t a trademark. Heavyweight boxer Carl Williams was known as the Truth and logged 41 fights from 1982 to 1997, losing to Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson in world title bouts. Walter Berry was nicknamed the Truth when he played in the NBA from 1986 to 1989 and Paul Pierce was the most popular Truth of all, suiting up for Boston, Washington and the L.A. Clippers in the NBA from 1998 to 2017.