By Keith Idec
Derrick James doesn’t discount the importance of Errol Spence Jr.’s size advantage over Mikey Garcia.
The 5-feet-10 Spence stands at least four inches taller than Garcia, who has competed as low as featherweight during his 12½ years as a pro.
The 2012 Olympian also has fought at or around the welterweight limit of 147 pounds since he turned pro six years ago, whereas Garcia will make his welterweight debut when they square off March 16 in Arlington, Texas.
Those factors notwithstanding, James, Spence’s trainer, has stressed that Spence’s skills, not simply size, will be the foremost factor in their FOX Pay-Per-View main event at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
“It’s all about the skill set, not the size,” James told a group of reporters recently in Los Angeles while promoting their fight. “Will the size come into play? Yeah, it always will because he’s so much bigger. But we wanna show the skill set that beats the guy, not the size. It’s all about skills. That’s what we’re focusing on and that’s what I really want him to show, and that’s what he’s gonna show.”
Spence (24-0, 21 KOs), a southpaw who’ll defend his IBF welterweight title versus Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs), is consistently listed by Las Vegas and Internet sports books as a 5-1 favorite. The 29-year-old Spence, of nearby DeSoto, Texas, hopes to knock out the 31-year-old Garcia, of Moreno Valley, California, in front of a crowd Cowboys owner Jerry Jones predicted could reach 50,000.
“If I can get him out of there, of course I’m gonna do that, because that’s just my killer instinct,” Spence said.
“That’s just how I am as a fighter. If I feel like you show any weakness or any flaws, and I can exploit it and I can get you out of there, then I’m gonna get you out of there – period. But, you know, we’re focused on just boxing talent and using my skills, using my abilities to break him down, and go get him right after that.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
