By Allan Fox: Errol Spence’s trainer Derrick James didn’t say anything this week about his physical condition following his car crash last October, but he is giving an explanation for why he looked the way he did in his fight against Shawn Porter.
We don’t know if Spence will ever come back from his accident, but if he never does come back, we can know WHY he struggled against Porter.
James says Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) chose to fight Porter at his own game, and prove to the boxing public that he could beat him that way. This is the same thing Spence has done with each of his last 4 opponents. So in other words, Spence has intentionally made it hard for himself by fighting his opponents’ game to prove a point to the fans.
Unfortunately for Spence, many of the fan didn’t get it. They saw Spence fight a lackluster match against Mikey Garcia last March, and then struggle to defeat Porter by a razor close 12 round split decision last September. If Spence’s goal was to make himself look bad, he accomplished it.
Derrick talks about Spence fighting his opponent’s fights
“I think everybody that has had a drink before, probably shouldn’t have been driving said Spence’s trainer Derrick James to Barbershop Conversations. “That Shawn Porter was probably the best version of Shawn Porter you’re ever going to see,” said James about how Porter performed against Spence.
“Listen, I’m going to give you four fights. Lamont Peterson, Kell Brook, Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter. All four of those fights, Errol fought four different styles. So don’t look at it like Shawn Porter [did good]. Errol beat Shawn Porter fighting Shawn Porter’s fight. They said Mikey [Garcia] was a better boxer.
“What did he do? He out-boxed Mikey. They said Lamont Peterson was more slick and intelligent, and he beat him. Kell Brook, they said he was a bigger, stronger fighter, and he beat him. So all these fighters and fights, he fought different styles,” said James.
It doesn’t make any sense for Spence to be fighting in the style that best suits his opponent, because he’s not been helping himself. Spence wants to be a star in the sport of boxing, but he’s not going to do that if he fights down to his opponents level.
James: Spence beat his last 4 opponents at their best
“People look at the ending. He beat them at what they do best,” said Spence. “Just like he boxed Mikey. I’ll put it like this. I want him to fight the way he wants to fight. So my gig is to give him a game plan and give him a strategy, and fight him.
“If you want to fight him, then fight him. So that’s what happened. He could have boxed him [Porter], but he beat him a more impressive way. He beat him at what he does best,” said James.
Spence beat his opponents at their best, but he didn’t look good.