By Chris Williams: Errol Spence Jr has noticed that American fans are willing to support foreign heavyweight Tyson Fury over their own U.S. fighter Deontay Wilder, and he says he doesn’t like that.
‘The Truth’ Spence notes that in the U.K., the British boxing fans completely support their fighters over foreign guys that don’t come from that country. Spence wonders why American boxing fans don’t get behind their homegrown opponents to help them in the same way as the Brits do.
Errol recalls how he was “mean-mugged” by the British fans on the night of his fight against U.K. fighter Kell Brook in May 2017 in Sheffield, England. Spence contrasts that with love, American fans showed British heavyweight Fury (30-0-1, 21 K.O.s) for his recent fight against Wilder (42-1-1, 41 K.O.s) on February 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The question is, why do British fans appear to support their fighters more than the U.S. fans with their guys? Fury does have a great personality. He’s worked hard and building his fan base in the U.S. by giving countless interviews, telling jokes, and being personable.
Spence doesn’t like Americans rooting for Fury
“I’m always going to root for my countryman just like they always root for their guy from the UK,” said Errol Spence Jr. to Brian Custer’s Last Stand podcast. “He’s [Deontay Wilder] the hometown guy, he’s the American kid.
That’s what I don’t like either. I don’t like how the American guys are rooting for Tyson Fury and he’s from the UK when all the UK guys are going for their guy.
All the boxers are going for Tyson Fury and all the fans are going for Tyson Fury. We’ve got people here that have got split support. A lot of Americans are going for Tyson Fury. I don’t like that a lot,” said Spence.
Americans sometimes root more for the non-U.S fighters over their countryman. Spence brings up Fury as an example of Americans supporting a non-American over their countryman in Wilder.
Another example would be when IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who comes from England, went to the U.S. to face American Andy Ruiz Jr last year in June 2019 in New York. Joshua was the one getting the most applause from the fans at Madison Square on the night of the fight rather than American Ruiz.
One reason for Joshua getting more love from the fans is the fact a lot of his supporters from the U.K. traveled to the U.S. to see him on the night of the fight, but that’s the entire reason. Joshua had many Americans supporting him for that fight over U.S. fighter Ruiz.
