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TRAINER DERRICK JAMES EXPLAINS WHY ERROL SPENCE IS A LOT LIKE SUGAR RAY LEONARD

By Percy Crawford | December 23, 2014
TRAINER DERRICK JAMES EXPLAINS WHY ERROL SPENCE IS A LOT LIKE SUGAR RAY LEONARD

"I'm gonna be honest and say that to me, I talk about him like he's a Sugar Ray Leonard type guy. Ray Leonard was a boxer, but he was a mean, tough guy. He wasn't a nice fighter. He really reminds me of Ray Leonard in that sense. From a defensive standpoint, the man is so calm and collected, he's always in the right place at the right time. When I look at his character and his disposition, he's a Ray Leonard type guy," stated Derrick James, trainer of fast-rising welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr., who talked about their recent victory, their future plans, and more. Check it out!

PC: Congratulations on the win. Errol looked very sharp in that fight. What did you think of his performance?

DJ: I thought he did a great job. There is always a couple of things that I think he could improve on. For me, I'm always searching for the perfect performance. But it was great. I mean, if we look at the video, we probably could say he could have done this or done that, but it was phenomenal, man. I'm not a big fan of Errol Spence in the sense that I can't criticize whatever he does. I have to see what the reality of what he is doing as his trainer. All of his fights have been good, but the last 3 fights, he's been doing all of the things that we work on and that makes me feel good.

PC: As a trainer, is it getting frustrating to have to go to Errol with another opponent change or that this one will be at a catchweight, or is it par for the course at this point of his career?

DJ: The thing about it is, I was a fighter and I wouldn't get notice to the day of the fight sometimes. It doesn't bother me because I know the nature of the sport. It's an individual sport and if something happens to the individual...things happen. He doesn't have a roster with a backup on it like other sports. I talked to him about it when he first turned pro and he understands. He may not like it, but he doesn't express that to me. He trains for everything and keeps his focus.

PC: It all started with the body work and everything opened up upstairs after the body attack. Was that the gameplan going in?

DJ: Well, you know what's funny is that I watched a video and watched the way he reacted during one of his other fights and I said, "He didn't like a body shot." So he practiced it and when you add that element to what you want to do in the ring, you prefect it. So the way he set it up and the things he did to land those punches, I think the way he put his punches together in this fight was impressive.

PC: Was there any emphasis on stopping this guy? Did you want him to take his time or did you stress that this guy shouldn't see the final bell to Errol?

DJ: I never think about knockouts. I never tell him you gotta knock a guy out. See, what happens is when you go in there looking for the knockout, a lot of times, you don't get it. And then when you chase it and get it, you may look horrible doing it. My thing is that he puts on a better performance each time. So I never emphasize knockouts, but the punches that we throw and the way he puts them together, if he lands those shots, the knockouts will eventually come.

PC: At one point, he was landing at a 71% connect rate on power punches. He was real precise with his shots and that's what I was most impressed with. What is the thing that stands out the most about his performance to you?

DJ: He worked off the jab and he takes instructions so well that he keeps me on my toes as a trainer. If I say something or do something, he takes it literal. If we work the mitts, the next day in sparring, he'll be doing it. He's that guy that takes instructions well, he's very disciplined, and he feels the need to put his own spin on something you taught him, and I'm okay with that. He's a great student and I think that's his greatest asset.

PC: During the commentary, they made a statement about his level of calmness. How much easier does that make your job to have a fighter that never seems to get too high or too low?

DJ: Him being like that makes it somewhat easy, but when I first started training him, it was all about defense. I would throw a lot of punches, I would have all of these guys come in and throw punches at him, and why I was doing that is because I wanted him to remain calm in the storm. So me as a big guy throwing punches at him, and I would bring in some little guys to throw a lot of punches at him, and the idea was to keep him calm under fire. Because when you have defense and the way that he uses it, it slows everything down. It literally slows everything down so that you can think within the moment as opposed to getting carried away about what's going on. He does a lot of things that just kind of cracks me up, but still, I'm not so much of a fan where I miss some of the things that are important to catch. He does a lot of things great, but if you become too much of a fan, you miss a lot of important things that you should be catching and correcting. I will have to stay focused on being a trainer and staying focused on what he does as opposed to how great he looks doing it.

PC: You have been around the fight game as a fighter and now as a trainer for a long time. Is there anyone Errol reminds you of?

DJ: I'm gonna be honest and say that to me, I talk about him like he's a Sugar Ray Leonard type guy. Ray Leonard was a boxer, but he was a mean, tough guy. He wasn't a nice fighter. He really reminds me of Ray Leonard in that sense. From a defensive standpoint, the man is so calm and collected, he's always in the right place at the right time. When I look at his character and his disposition, he's a Ray Leonard type guy.

PC: A lot of young guys who are considered boxers are not the most exciting fighters. Errol, although considered a boxer, is a very exciting fighter.

DJ: What's funny about him is that he is a boxer's boxer. I see so many fighters who love to watch him fight. I think one of the guys who loves him the most is Bermane Stiverne. He always says, "He's the truth!" He is a fighter's fighter. If I could be a boxer, I would want to fight like him. I think that he has so much substance. When you don't have substance, you have to have flash. You have to be something else. But he has substance, so he doesn't have to be boisterous or any of that because he has substance. He knows who he is. I always tell people, my mother raised me to know who I am so I never have to act a certain way or try to be something that I'm not. Well, he has substance and he knows who he is, so he don't have to be this other guy. He knows who he is and he's comfortable with that.

PC: Errol named a lot of big names who is on his radar. I know you said 2015 is the year you guys wanted to start aiming at a world title. Is the Keith Thurman and Amir Khan type fighters the next logical step for Errol?

DJ: First of all, I wanna say I can't impose my desires on what he wants to do. I want him to fight who he wants to fight. So if he's saying these names, that's what I want for him. I know where he is mentally and I want what he wants. I can't want anything else but what he wants. If he wants a world title next year, that's what I want. If he wants Amir Khan or Keith Thurman or whoever, that's who I want him to have. I'm not a guy to call out other people, and he's not calling them out, that's just who stands in front of him. You can be a guy that exists or a guy that's alive. He's an Olympian, so he's not gonna be a guy that just exists. The Olympics just don't happen. Winning 3 National Championships in a row just don't happen. You have to be a guy that thrives for success, so he wants the guys that are right there in front of him and that's just natural if you want to be successful in this business.

PC: Great performance from Errol. I definitely look forward to seeing him in there next year. Is there anything else you want to add?

DJ: I just want to tell everybody to stay focused. Errol is very focused and the better the competition, the better he will be and the more he will stay focused. So I just appreciate all the love and support from everybody. We got great sparring from a lot of guys and we appreciate all of those guys!



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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