Errol Spence Jr. On Pulling Out Of Manny Pacquaio Fight: ‘I’ll Be Back Soon. We’ve Come Back From Worse’

Errol Spence Jr. is disappointed he won’t get the chance to fight Manny Pacquiao.

Spence Jr. and Pacquiao were supposed to fight on August 21 in a highly-anticipated bout. Unfortnately for Spence, who is the current WBC, IBF champion, was forced to withdraw due to a retinal tear in his left eye. The injury was discovered on Monday, during a pre-fight medical examination by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

After being forced out of the fight, Spence Jr. flew back home and will have surgery to repair the eye. He also expects to make a full recovery but he is disappointed he is out of the fight.

“I’m very disappointed that I won’t be able to fight Manny Pacquiao on August 21,’’ Spence Jr. said (via BoxingScene). “I was excited about the fight and the event. Unfortunately, the doctors found a tear in my left eye and said I needed to get surgery on it ASAP and that there was no way I could fight with my eye in that condition. I’d like to apologize to everyone. You know I’ll be back soon. We’ve come back from worse.’’

Errol Spence Jr., of course, was involved in a major car accident back in 2019 that left with him serious injuries. After months of rehab, he returned in December of 2020 and earned a dominant decision win over Danny Garcia.

Despite the fact Spence Jr. is out of the fight with Manny Pacquiao, the event will still go on and Pacquiao will now face short-notice replacement Yordenis Ugas. He is the current WBA welterweight champ and will put his belt on the line. He was also supposed to fight Fabian Maidana in the co-main event but his opponent was forced out of the fight as well.

Who would you like to see Errol Spence Jr. fight once he is healthy?