Derrick James has seen the same Errol Spence Jr. in the gym recently that he had watched throughout Spence’s ascent toward the elite level of the sport.
Spence’s comeback from injuries sustained during a one-car accident October 10 in Dallas has encouraged James. The unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champion’s trainer isn’t certain when he’ll fight again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but James hopes boxing fans appreciate Spence’s two impressive victories in 2019.
James discussed Spence’s wins against Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter during the newest episode of “The PBC Podcast,” which debuted Wednesday on Premier Boxing Champions’ website.
“The more difficult fight was Shawn Porter,” James told co-hosts Kenneth Bouhairie and Michael Rosenthal. “And the only reason why it was a more difficult fight is only because Errol chose to beat him fighting [Porter’s] fight. So, if you think about it, they said that Mikey Garcia was a better boxer, better this. So, Errol out-boxed Mikey. He out-fought Shawn.
“So, that’s the difference. Errol chose to beat these guys fighting their fight. Whatever you say they can do, he did it better than they did it. So, that’s the difference. It’s one thing to out-box Shawn Porter. He could’ve did that all day. But to beat a guy doing what he does better makes a bigger statement.”
The left-handed Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) thoroughly out-boxed Garcia a year ago at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
According to all three judges, the 2012 U.S. Olympian won every round against Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs). Judges Alex Levin and Nelson Vazquez scored that fight 120-108 for Spence, who won 120-107 on Glenn Feldman’s card.
Garcia, a four-weight world champion from Oxnard, California, moved up two divisions – from lightweight to welterweight – to fight for Spence’s IBF 147-pound crown.
Six months later, Spence and Porter produced one of the most fantastic action fights of 2019. Spence dropped Porter in the 11th round and won a very competitive 12-round, 147-pound title unification bout by split decision September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Judges Rey Danesco (116-111) and Steve Weisfeld (116-111) scored their fight for Spence (26-0, 21 KOs), who won the WBC belt from Las Vegas’ Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) and kept his IBF belt. Judge Larry Hazzard Jr. scored Porter a 115-112 winner over Spence in the main event of a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View telecast.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
