By Jeff Aronow: Manny Pacquiao’s strength & conditioning coach Justin Fortune doesn’t believe Errol Spence Jr is the same fighter he once was after his terrible car crash in October 2019.
Fortune still feels that Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is an excellent fighter, but he’s not the same guy he was before his crash two years ago.
Fortune says he thinks that if Spence takes on Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) right now, he’ll get demolished by the 42-year-old, who is too fast for him the way he’s fighting now.
The former heavyweight professional Fortune thinks Spence would have been knocked out in his last fight by Danny Garcia on December 5th if the Philadelphia native had let his hands go. If Garcia had landed his power shots, he would have knocked Spence out.
Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs) fought defensively and wound up losing by a 12 round unanimous decision by 117-111, 116-112, and 116-112.
“Spence is a great fighter and a good champion, but he’s not the same guy that he was before, not at all,” said Fortune to The Sun.
“Danny Garcia also never pulled the trigger that night, or else Danny would probably have beaten him, I think.
“You put Spence in there with someone like Pacquiao now, Pacquiao obliterates him, even a 42-years-old.
Fortune isn’t the first person that has sounded off about Spence not looking like the same guy that he once was after his fight against Danny Garcia.
Many boxing fans believe that Spence looked roughly 70% of the fighter he was before he crashed his expensive Ferrari 488 Spider at 2:53 AM on October 10, 2019, in Dallas, Texas. Spence’s car flipped several times, causing him to be ejected onto the pavement.
We don’t know whether Spence can ever regain the form that he once had before the car crash. Fortune recommends that Spence take several tune-up fights to get back to where he was, if possible.
Spence isn’t talking about wanting to take several tune-up matches, though, as he’s interested in facing Pacquiao or WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas next. Those are both fights that will be risky for Spence, particularly if he’s got lingering issues from his car crash.
“You’d want to give Spence two or three fights to get his s*** back together, that’s for sure,” said Fortune. “Manny’s too fast and too strong; he uses too many angles.”
Manny might be too fast and strong for Spence right now, and it would be sad to see him lose if he’s not fully back from his car crash.
Spence isn’t in the position to wait before taking on the 42-year-old Pacquiao, considering that if he doesn’t face him now, he may forever miss his chance.
It would be a great victory for Pacquiao to defeat Spence and be the first guy to accomplish that task. In Pacquiao’s last fight, he defeated the previously unbeaten Keith Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) by a 12 round decision in July 2019.