"I'm tired of everybody talking about how Floyd Mayweather is afraid of this guy. I trained with Floyd years ago and I fought at 168 and he was fighting at 130. He was sparring a guy that was a super middleweight and knocked him out. I have seen him spar bigger guys, so to say he is afraid of a guy his size or smaller just bothers me coming from people who have never boxed...and that's okay. And it's okay to give your perspective on it and that's okay too, but now I'm happy that it's happening and it will be great for the sport," stated Derrick James, world-class trainer of fast-rising welterweight Errol Spence, who shared his thoughts on the upcoming May 2 showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Check it out!
PC: With all of these Al Haymon dates floating around, I'm sure you have to be looking at a date for Errol Spence. What is it looking like?
DJ: We were looking at a date, but the date they gave us changed, so they gave us another date and then that changed. It's a big mix up now because of the big fight coming up now. So that kind of changed the whole perplexity of everything. I don't know what the date is right now; I'm not sure. I can't even call it. We may be in a camp with someone. I look at it like this, the way I know sparring and how it works, I don't think he [Floyd] would fight Pacquiao without Errol in camp. That's just me talking though. I think you always gotta have that guy that keeps you on point and keeps you on top of your game when you're going into a big fight.
PC: What are your thoughts on some of the things Al Haymon is doing within the sport of boxing?
DJ: I think it's phenomenal for the sport. I think the people who are not happy with that are the people who thought they were smarter than him. He thought outside the box. I think so many people are caught up on Floyd and so many people are caught up on Pacquiao that they felt other things didn't really matter in the sport of boxing. Well, while they were locked into that, he was creating a whole new picture of what he wanted to do and where he wanted to take the sport. It's phenomenal and it's going to put all of the light back on the sport of boxing and put us right in front of everyone again. So for the people that don't have HBO, cable, or Showtime, these are basic standard channels that come with having a television. I think it's a great thing.
PC: We will break down Mayweather-Pacquiao as it gets closer, but just your thoughts in general of the big fight finally happening.
DJ: I think it's a good thing because I'm tired of everybody talking about how Floyd Mayweather is afraid of this guy. I trained with Floyd years ago and I fought at 168 and he was fighting at 130. He was sparring a guy that was a super middleweight and knocked him out. He knocked out a super middleweight. I have seen him spar bigger guys, so to say he is afraid of a guy his size or smaller just bothers me coming from people who have never boxed...and that's okay. And it's okay to give your perspective on it and that's okay too, but now I'm happy that it's happening and it will be great for the sport. Everybody knows these guys by one name, Floyd and Manny. When you get to that level when everyone knows who you are and you guys come together to fight, it's great for the sport. Vegas is going to be on fire. So it's going to be good.
PC: You gonna be there?
DJ: (Laughing) I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be there. Like I said, we may be out there already. Let's just say I'm hoping I will be out there.
PC: Any fights coming up that you are looking forward to?
DJ: Honestly, I'm so focused on my guys, man. We got big fights coming up. Errol is going to have a big one coming up because honestly, every fight from this point moving forward for him is the biggest fight of his career. We are focused on that. I enjoyed the Triple G and Murray fight. My Friday nights and Saturday's will always be tied up watching boxing. I enjoy it, I love the sport of boxing, and more than anything, I enjoy watching quality boxing; two good guys going against each other. I don't care for the over-matched fights. I like competitive fights in a competitive sport.
PC: I always appreciate the time. Best of luck to you and your guys moving forward. Is there anything else you want to add?
DJ: I have another guy, Robert Brant. He just fought in Minnesota. He got a first round knockout and Robert fights again on April 17th in Minnesota in his first televised fight. I'm just looking to get all of my guys to be fundamentally sound on a consistent basis. That's all I want to do. Being consistent, you will gradually get better anyway and with the level of competition getting better as well. So everybody is looking good and I'm happy about that.
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