“The sweet part about it is that Lamont gets another chance to fight for a world title. The bitter part about it is we have a history with Errol Spence. I have to remind myself that at the end of the day, it’s business. It’s not personal... however long this fight’s timeframe lasts, you ain’t going to see that. You’re going to see two dudes who both want to win; neither wants to lose and they are warriors,” stated Barry Hunter, world-class trainer of former world champion Lamont Peterson, who talked about their upcoming clash with undefeated welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. Check it out!
PC: The consensus around boxing is that no one wants to fight Errol Spence Jr. and he’s the avoided man right now. Lamont Peterson is that guy that will always raise his hand for these types of challenges. Why take this fight?
BH: You know, it’s funny, I’ve heard the same things; if you look at the landscape of all of the welterweights out there, you look at Keith [Thurman], you look at Lamont, you look at Errol, you look at Danny Garcia and the rest of them, we never got in this business to pick and choose who it is that we’re going to fight. The way I figure is you either can fight or you can’t, and I know Lamont can fight. If you look at some of the interviews, some of the post-fight interviews from Lamont or Errol, they would always call out Keith, they would always call out Danny. They didn’t discriminate. Lamont had always said he didn’t get in the business…it wasn’t about money with him early on; it was about nothing else other than being the best in whatever division he fought in. Again, we in the fight business. We can fight and we’re confident in the fact that we can fight. So therefore, whoever it is, that’s what it is.
PC: Another reason I like the Head Banger camp is the mentality from you guys was never about remaining undefeated or being afraid to lose an 0. It always seemed to be about making good fights and putting on great performances.
BH: Absolutely! When you look at all the major sports, take the New England Patriots as a prime example. For years, we used to watch them year after year get punished on the football field. Then all of a sudden, when they time came, look at them now. They are a legendary team with a legendary coach and a legendary quarterback, but if you’ve really followed them, you can’t forget, not too long ago, they were 1-15. Whatever sport it is, just because you have a bad game or a bad day or even a bad fight in the ring, that don’t necessarily mean that you can’t come back and become a world champion. Lamont is a prime example. When he lost to Bradley, he ended up winning 3 world titles in 2 different weight classes. So when you...I put it this way, Percy, you got a choice; you could either become what the people want you to become or you could become what it is that you know you’re capable of becoming. We’ve never let anyone tell us who or what we were.
PC: I’m sure you have had your share of dealings with Errol. What are your thoughts on him as a fighter and opponent?
BH: I know Errol very, very well. Errol is one of those kids who is very dear to me. I coached him. We fought in many of fights together, both foreign and domestic. We’ve never lost a fight together. I do have a real closeness with Errol Spence. Lamont also helped mentor Errol, so this is a little different. Normally the people we fight, we know of them, but we don’t know them, so it’s a bittersweet moment for me. The sweet part about it is that Lamont gets another chance to fight for a world title. The bitter part about it is we have a history with Errol Spence. I have to remind myself that at the end of the day, it’s business. It’s not personal. People in the NBA battle all the time and after, win, lose or draw, they can hang out. If you were friends before, you can be friends after is the way I figure it. But, just like Errol, if we had our pick of the litter or the ones we wanted, it would have been Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia.
PC: Is it difficult to prepare for someone who you influenced at some point or, like you said, does that business switch come on the minute the contract was signed?
BH: It’s different because that's the humane side of us, but on the flip side of that, I’ve been in the trenches for a long time and Lamont has been in the trenches for a long time. Not to sidetrack, but we had another kid on that team with Errol and he was pretty much a knockout artist. People thought he would go far. Unfortunately, he didn’t continue on his journey and the thing I’ve always liked about Errol was his will. He reminded me so much of Lamont, the way he attacked situations in the ring.
PC: Have you played this fight out in your mind? What type of fight are you expecting on January 20th?
BH: I haven’t really, but because of the two dudes involved and what I know about them personally as far as their skillset in the ring, it could go either way. It could be mano y mano or it could be tactical and then end up a war or it could be a war from bell-go. You just never know. Just like Lamont knows Errol, Errol know Lamont. There is a lot of love and a lot of respect there, but once that bell rings, all of that has to go out of the door for the next 30 to 40 minutes or however long it takes. I got a real big respect for Derrick [James]. I’ve watched him on his grind. Years ago, I seen him come through Mississippi and he stuck on the path and he’s here now. So it will be some respect in there, but however long this fight’s timeframe lasts, you ain’t going to see that. You’re going to see two dudes who both want to win; neither wants to lose and they are warriors.
PC: Watching Lamont compete for another world title and watching his journey as a fighter and as a man, what has it been like over the last few years?
BH: I told somebody recently that Lamont and his brother are a coach’s dream. You couldn’t find two better human beings, let alone athletes, but two better human beings. Their mentality is just like mine; if we rock with you, we rock with you and if we don’t, we don’t. There is no in between. In the darkest hour, we always find a way to make it work; those two, myself, Andre [Johnson], “Boogie” Patrice Harris and our attorney. We got a tight little knit group and we’ve dealt with the politics of boxing, and trust and believe, like you know, there is a lot of them. Through all of that, from the juniors to the open class, through the Pan-Am games and the Olympic Trials, and now through the professional rankings, we always find a way to overcome and pull shit out, excuse my French. This time is no different from the rest. When we see Errol, we see Errol as if he was anybody else. Everybody is a world champion to us, I put it that way; everybody. I don’t care if you’re 0-20 or 20-0. Anything can happen in that ring and we go in there with that particular mindset. No matter who that fighter is and what has been said about him, every fighter is a threat in that 4-corner room. We approach this fight no different than we approached every other fight. Every fighter to us is undefeated, multiple champion, and a threat. I hope this boxing game gets back to where it’s supposed to be where you didn’t have people pick and choose who you fought. If you claimed to be the best, then you weren’t afraid to fight the best. Stop making all of these excuses. The way I figure is Errol and Lamont are two throwback guys, willing to go in there, travel, willing to go in anybody’s backyard and go in there and fight anybody. I think everybody else should follow suit. If we do that, this great game that we love so much will be back to the level it’s supposed to be.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]