"I think it will be good for him just to do one more this year and get ready to rev up for 2015. I think that will be a big year for him and the guys I trainÂ…He needs to continue to look good and continue to get better and do better and 2015, his level of competition will rise significantly, which is what we want. You are going to see bigger and better things out of him," stated Derrick James, trainer of fast-rising welterweight Errol Spence Jr., who talked about their recent win, their future plans, and more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on another win with Errol Spence. You didn't get to see much of Errol in his last fight, but were you impressed with what you did see?
DJ: Thank you for that. I didn't to see much, but I saw a lot of the things that we worked on. I'm proud of him. I never really discussed how I felt about the fight, but I saw stuff that the average eye can't see; but he did it and he looked good doing it.
PC: One thing I was really impressed with in that fight was his defense. He was real sharp in that department.
DJ: Thank you again. He's always great on defense. That's how the guy broke his hand. He threw a body shot and he blocked it by dropping his elbow down and the kid broke his knuckle. But we believe in defense first and foremost. It's the first thing my trainer showed me when I boxed and our philosophy is we can stop you from hitting us, but the question is, can you stop us from hitting you?
PC: He got his rounds in against Cruz. Were you evaluating other things now that you saw he could go a solid 10 rounds?
DJ: Yeah! The Cruz fight showed a level of conditioning and defense as well. I'm all about winning, but I believe in winning the way we trained to win. You can win ugly sometimes and a win is a win, but if we sat down, I could show you he did this and he did that that maybe the naked eye wouldn't see, but he did a lot of good stuff and I like that.
PC: He's fought on the big week of a Mayweather event before, he's headlined multiple cards; nothing seems to rattle him.
DJ: We talked about that yesterday to where a lot of fighters look for that attention, and want to get on television, but when they get there, they freeze up. We talked about him fighting in world championships and fighting in the Olympics on a large stage. That's where he gets his comfort level from. He was on the US Nationals Team and just being #1 for so many years, that kind of grows on you to be on the big stage and that's what makes him real comfortable in there.
PC: A lot of young fighters now feel the need to be brash or real flamboyant and Errol doesn't take that approach. Is he just not that type of kid or you encourage him to remain the way he is?
DJ: I believe in humility first and foremost. You look at Sugar Ray Leonard; he really didn't talk much. He talked a little bit, but not much. You look at guys like Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler; it was about fighting and making money. I believe in humility and at the end of the day, it's about the fans and the fans loving you. I don't really like the guys that talk so much, but do so little in the ring. I prefer a guy that don't talk at all, but does a lot in the ring. I like it like that. He's not really a talker. He's a quiet guy and I like it like that. It's all about humility.
PC: As a trainer, when you have a kid that's looked at as the next big thing and he's so talented, is it tough keeping him focused for guys like Noe Bolanos or is that not a problem?
DJ: It's not hard because he's a self-motivated individual. I think that a guy like Noe Bolanos, people don't realize it, but he's the kind of guy that can beat you because, like they said, he came to win. His best asset is the fact that you may overlook him. We focus on the guy in front of us and we have to continue to look good every time. The problem is that you are fighting every fight on TV, so you are developing in front of everybody's eyes. But the other issue is that anything we do wrong, people are going to look at it and analyze it, so you want to constantly be getting better. I know for a fact a guy like Bolanos can beat you when you're thinking about the next guy and the next guy. You have to focus on this guy so you can focus on getting better and looking good. Like I said, he worked on a lot of the things that we worked on in the gym that I mention to him and show to him and he may not do it for me on the mitts, but he does it in the ring. It kind of makes me smile like, "Why wouldn't you do this in the gym?" So I'm looking forward to him getting better fights and looking better and better every time out.
PC: Do you only want to get him back in one more time or are you trying to get in two?
DJ: Probably just one more. I think it will be good for him just to do one more this year and get ready to rev up for 2015. I think that will be a big year for him and the guys I train. I think one is good and two would be pushing it because there is only 3 months left. I look forward to just one more and that would be great.
PC: Congratulations again and I wish you guys continued success. Is there anything else you want to add?
DJ: This fight, I told Errol also, when you fight and you look good, the expectations are there. He needs to continue to look good and continue to get better and do better and 2015, his level of competition will rise significantly, which is what we want. You are going to see bigger and better things out of him. He has guys pushing him in the gym in sparring. It's like 4 different guys with 4 different styles so he has to adjust to what other people do in the ring and that's a good thing.
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