Interview: Derrick James

When pound-for-pound star and unified welterweight champ Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr.(26-0, 21 KOs) steps back in the ring on Saturday, December 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and shown live on FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View, for the first time since his horrific single car accident just over a year ago against two-division world champ Danny “Swift” Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs), boxing fans will be on the edge of their seat to see how he responds to the first big punch landed by the hard-hitting Garcia.

Spence was lined up to face Garcia after his thrilling battle with Shawn Porter last September at Staples Center in LA, where he captured the WBC belt to go along with his IBF strap, but most were surprised when Garcia was again announced as the comeback fight and not a softer matchup.

And everyone would have been ok with it, but Spence was not.

“I didn’t want any tune-up fights,” Spence said. I wanted someone who is tough and who could push me to the limit, so I can get back to being Errol Spence Jr. I’m going to give a great performance and hear ‘and still’ on December 5.

“I picked Danny Garcia so that I could rise to the occasion. I’m still the top dog in the division. Fighting Danny will show how great a fighter I am.”

Trainer Derrick James who is always thoughtful in his assessment of his champ summed it up best.

“You have to understand there’s a difference in him being the champ and he wants to prove himself, it’s totally different,” explained James. “He feels like he needs to prove himself like when he fought Kell Brook. To prove something to yourself, to prove something to the world, you have to truly challenge yourself to do something that people may not think you can do.

“To come back against somebody who is not as good or is softer, your motivation and inspiration for your own success may not be there as much.”

James added, “Errol wants to be challenged and not only challenged, he wants to prove to the world that he is still the best welterweight in the world.”

And James understands that much of their success falls on his shoulders to ensure Spence is prepared to take on one of the best at 147 in Garcia who is two razor thin losses against Thurman and Porter from being undefeated plus has fought a who’s who between 140-147 over the last decade.

“You look at Danny Garcia and he probably has the best resume in boxing outside of Manny Pacquiao,” stated James. “The best resume in boxing outside of Manny Pacquiao period.”

“His resume includes Kendall Holt, Zab Judah, Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse, Mauricio Herrera, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Erik Morales twice and Paulie Malignaggi. He beat a lot of people. He fought a lot of guys.”

James has studied Spence closely since his return to the gym in late March and can’t’ find anything that would be cause for concern.

“Nothing, no lingering effects from his accident,” James said. “And I’m being honest with you. This all falls back on me. Everybody’s ah man, you thought he was ready.

“Listen, I’m watching him, I am looking at him and I don’t see anything. It’s my eyes and I relayed it to Al Haymon to what I see and what I think so it’s all on me. Well you said he was right. That’s what they’re going to say, what the stories and articles are going to be.”

James added, “Derrick James said Errol Spence was good as new. I’m watching him, his reaction time and he’s giving his sparring partners hell.”

Spence has assured everyone including James that he feels as good as ever, which is remarkable considering where he was not that long ago after his big win against Porter to unify the division.

“I feel blessed and ready to go,” Spence told the media at Tuesday’s virtual press conference promoting the fight. “I feel like I’m 100% physically. We’ve been training hard and staying focused. I can’t wait to give my hometown fans something to cheer for when I defend my title against a great opponent.

“It’s up to me to make a big splash coming back from my car accident. Lesser opponents were for before I became champion. I finally got to the top, where I can fight the big names, so I’m not going backward. These are the guys I’ve wanted to fight forever.

James, the only trainer Spence has had since he turned pro in 2012, sees him reverting to the mindset he had before he was a world champion and became one of the “faces of boxing.”

“He’s even hungrier than he was before becoming a champ,” insisted James. “As a champ, when he fought Kell Brook, when he fought Leonard Bundu, that was like a coming out party, Chris Algieri coming out party. Leonard Bundu was more to solidify who he was, to beat Kell Brook he had to go out and prove it, everybody thought he was going to lose.”

Spence would concur with his coach.

“The accident just made me hungrier and even more focused,” assured Spence. “I have the same hunger now that I had before I won the title. I’m coming into camp much lighter and it’s helping me have an even better camp.

“I’m the champ, and at the end of the day, I can just fight. When it gets down to the wire, I know how to dig down deep and come out on top.”

James added, “He had to prove something. Now he is back at that same spot, he has the ability to do what he has been training to do for years, which is to fight, and prove to people again, he’s the same old guy and the last guy to beat Shawn Porter.”

James knows that the elder Garcia will have his son ready and at his best when they square off at Cowboy Stadium in early December.

“He’s a tough guy. What he and his father have done is amazing,” James said. “I’m truly amazed what they have done with his career, how he has beaten these guys.

“Garcia is everybody’s favorite underdog, who always comes to fight and always shows up and always shows out. That’s the truth. He’s a great fighter and we can’t overlook him. We can’t overlook Danny Garcia, because Danny Garcia will beat you. You cannot overlook him. That’s for real.”

James doesn’t always seem to get the credit he deserves for his work with Spence and Jermell Charlo, the unified champ at 154.

“I could possibly be underrated, I don’t know,” pondered James. I would be more recognized if I was more of a character, more pompous, more controversial and because I’m not and respectful I think that I can easily be overlooked.

“If I was more of a character, but I’m not going to be that guy, too many people watch, too many kids, I’m not going to be that guy, it’s not worth it.

James doesn’t worry too much about what others think as he is living out his dreams.

“It’s like a dream. I’m just happy to help these young men fulfil their dreams. It’s crazy to even be here, I ended up being a fighter, growing up watching boxing, watching fights, now I’m training fighters that people are watching and creating memories for a lot of people. It’s kind of crazy.”

James even went so far as to trademark three dreams.

“I’m living my ancestors dream, which I truly am. I’m living Martin Luther King’s dream and I’m living my hater’s dream, because I don’t bother people,” James explained.

“What’s your problem, why do you dislike me so much, because I am living their dreams and they can’t take it. So at the same time, I’m happy to be back and I think it’s a pleasure and an honor to be at this place and we just want to make the best of our opportunity and go out there and show the world that Errol Spence is back.”

James, also a Dallas native like Spence, is excited for the moment to fight back at home at AT&T Stadium aka Cowboy Stadium.

“You will see Errol Spence be the best Errol Spence he can be,” said James. “It’s beautiful just to be back in Cowboy Stadium with Jerry. As a kid, you grow up watching these things, that’s why nobody can never tell you what you can and can’t do.

“I have been told, stop, get out of boxing. You never going to be anything in boxing. I have been told that before. I’m a kid from East Dallas projects, grew up in Oak Cliff, you’re talking to me, I’m talking to you. You can never believe what people tell you about yourself.”

James rattled off his biggest fights to date as a trainer.

“My last 5 fights were the biggest fights of my career,” stated James. “And what I mean by that, each one of them has topped the one before it. The Mikey Garcia unification bout, Errol fighting a four-division champ biggest fight of my career. The next fight Errol fights Shawn Porter, biggest fight of my career. The next fight Jermell fights Tony Harrison, to get his title back, biggest fight of my career. The next fight, Jermell fights unification bout, biggest fight of my career.”

No fight, however, is bigger than the one in front of James and Spence in a few weeks.

“This one is bigger than all of those because of everything that it entails, Errol coming back, the accident, all of that stuff makes it bigger because there’s more emphasis, it’s more about us getting back to where he was and so this is the biggest fight of my career without a doubt.”