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DERRICK JAMES DISCUSSES ERROL SPENCE HOMECOMING AND JERMELL CHARLO'S RETURN: "JERMELL AND ERROL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO THRIVE"

By Percy Crawford | March 16, 2018
DERRICK JAMES DISCUSSES ERROL SPENCE HOMECOMING AND JERMELL CHARLO'S RETURN:

"What’s in front of us is this guy Carlos Ocampo. We are focused on him. I can’t see anything different. Errol is not thinking of anything else because he wants this and this is what it’s all about...Jermell and Errol have been able to thrive because they have been developed and not built," stated Derrick James, world-class trainer of champions Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo, who talked about their upcoming returns to the ring. Check it out!

PC: It has been awhile since we spoke on record, so congratulations on the win over Lamont Peterson. What did you think of Errol’s performance, and being that you like both Barry Hunter and Lamont, was it starting to get hard to watch?

DJ: I appreciate that, bruh. Yeah man, it was kind of hard to watch. I know how hard Errol punches and he wasn’t really missing many punches, so I was ready for it to be over, man. I was pleased with the performance. There are a couple of things that we can work on; there are always things we can work on. Even when everything is perfect, there is still things I think he can do better. We got a couple of things to work on. My job is never to look at what he does well, but what he’s not doing great. I’m not going to cheer him on; I’m not going to be a fan because I have to focus on what he’s doing wrong. 

PC: It’s a busy time for you with June dates for both Errol and Jermell. When will it start to form into a camp type of atmosphere because I know you guys are in the gym?

DJ: We working out, but we going to get deep into it in early April; mid to early April. We deep in after that. Once these press conferences happen, that’s when everything pops off. 

PC: We had the interview up with Jermell and he was saying how it was a robbery that you didn’t win the consensus “Trainer of the Year” award. He also stated that they will get you the award this year. That had to be a good feeling for you to see him speak so highly of you?

DJ: We have a level of respect for each other. They respect me as a fighter, they respect me as a trainer, and I respect and believe in them. I know what my role is. It wasn’t like I didn’t get it; I just didn’t get it from the Boxing Writer’s. I got it on Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated, and a couple of other ones. Just to be recognized all over the world; I was in the U.K., I was in Germany and Denmark and people recognize me. They say I’m the “Trainer of the Year.” He was just mad that a couple of people gotta get it right and that’s okay. 

PC: A lot of fighters are saying the names Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo. You have two of the hottest guys in boxing. What is it like to be the name on the tip of a lot of tongues now?

DJ: I think that in the real world, if you could dream about how you want things to play out in your life, it wouldn’t come out this good. You couldn’t imagine being in a position like this. I never dreamed of it, I just believed in working hard and keep pushing myself and staying in shape for the guys because I have to be in tip-top shape to be able to train these guys. It’s a lot of hard work and being in the right place at the right time and it’s beautiful. 

PC: When you see many fans and some media within the sport feel that Keith Thurman is potentially avoiding Errol and Shawn Porter is potentially avoiding Errol, does that become frustrating to think that those fights may not happen?

DJ: Nah, man, I don’t think about it. I do my best not to think about it and I know these fights are going to come to pass. They are going to happen. It’s just not going to happen on the fans time or when they want it, but it’s going to happen I do believe. It’s like the Kell Brook fight, everybody was talking and I wasn’t concerned about that because if he wasn’t fighting Kell Brook, he was fighting somebody. I do my best to focus on what’s in front of us and I don’t worry about what people are talking about. 

PC: Errol wants the Thurman’s, Garcia’s, and Porter’s, but he also has mandatory obligations and it just so happens to be a homecoming. When you’re big game hunting, sometimes a guy like Carlos Ocampo could cause problems. How do you guy’s avoid that?

DJ: We know that it’s all about what’s in front of us right now. We have dreams, goals, and aspirations and those things won’t manifest if you can’t take care of what’s in front of you, and what’s in front of us is this guy Carlos Ocampo. We are focused on him. I can’t see anything different. Errol is not thinking of anything else because he wants this and this is what it’s all about. 

PC: Errol is starting to show a more fiery side. Jermell has always kind of had that. As a coach, that has to be a motivating factor because you have two guys who are world champions but still very hungry. 

DJ: I love to see the fiery side of Errol because he’s always so quiet. Jermell makes a statement and that’s just what it is. People don’t know this, but Jermell is a comedian. He cracks jokes all day. You really can’t be around him because he’s cracking jokes all day. He’s never really serious. But when it comes fight time, it’s all about what people have been saying about him, how people don’t believe in him; so it’s a lot of that. He’s a world champion, he’s defended his title twice, fought every mandatory he had to to get his shot and he still feels like he’s not getting his level of respect. So that’s where the fire comes from. We need that fire. We don’t want respect given to us; we just going to keep taking names. 

PC: Have you started to break down film of Ocampo or is it still too early?

DJ: Nah man, the first time I saw him, somebody posted a picture on Facebook. They posted a picture of Errol and him side by side. I haven’t watched him yet. I’m still working him out and training, but after the press conference, it’s time! I’m kind of on a break and I’m going to enjoy that because I have two fights coming back to back and week to week. Two camps is hard, so I want to be able to relax for as long as I can mentally before I go in. I’m going in for two different guys.

PC: You guys have been fighting on the east coast a lot. Is it pleasant to have a fight in your backyard where you can sleep in your own bed and have dinner at your dinner table?

DJ: Man, nah, man, I like to travel (laughing). I like to get those AA miles (laughing). But, it’s okay. Wherever we go, there is always this frenzy, so now that we’re at home, people get to experience it. It’s cool to be able to bring people into your world without having to actually travel and you bring your world to them. We are bringing them to Dallas and everybody will kind of get to see this part of it. It’s beautiful, man. I know you are going to come up also, I’m sure. 

PC: Most definitely! Texas showing that they have some guys that can fight; Errol, Charlo’s, Prograis, and several other Texas fighters starting to emerge. 

DJ: There are two thing about boxing that you have to understand. We talk about fighters and either you develop fighters or you build fighters. Developing fighters is having him fight fighters who is going to test him every now and then or even more frequent. Every fight is another test. But building a fighter is when you don’t have him fight anybody and he just built up a record and padded a record and that does happen a lot in the south, so I’m not going to act like it doesn’t happen. Jermell and Errol have been able to thrive because they have been developed and not built. You can really put any other guys from this area in that breath. You gotta have great managers who are going to get them the fights and trainers who are going to get them right, developed, and get their skill set right. That’s what you see in these two guys and that’s the difference. But the south has a lot of good fighters. Regis Prograis is one of them. You will see it. We have a young kid, Adrian Taylor. I don’t train him, but he’s kind of in our camp and he’s really good, man. He’s a light heavyweight. You’ll see a lot of that coming out. 

PC: You made a statement on Facebook after the Wilder-Ortiz fight and you said boxing fans are snobs these days. Could you elaborate on what you meant by that?

DJ: We have to as fans, because I’m a fan of something, we have to just sit back and enjoy the event and enjoy the moment as opposed to trying to interject our personal feelings or desires into something that you have nothing to do with. We all root for people and we are all a fan of somebody, but at the same time, you have to sit back, chill out, and let it all play out. Every argument that a person gets into, hey, it’s a fight. Boxing is the one sport that’s settled with a fight, so it’s going to be settled. You don’t have to guess what’s going to happen or over-analyze and interject your feelings; wait and it’s going to happen. The best way to watch it is as a true fan because you get to enjoy it. When you interject your personal feelings into it, if you don’t get what you want, you didn’t like the fight.

Ortiz and Wilder, Wilder, may not be the guy with the skill set that you want him to have, but he has enough power and enough athleticism to get what he needs done. I’m a fan of technique and technical skills, but I love Mark Breland at the same time. By saying that, I respect him and what he’s doing with his guy. The guy keeps winning; that’s all you can ask for. The better technical fighter, the sharper fighter didn’t win, so they say (laughing). Man, listen, it is what it is. I got love for Mark Breland and that’s what it is. They keep winning and that’s all I gotta say. What more can fans want other than a good, competitive fight? People don’t want to see a blowout, or so they say. When my guys are not fighting, I don’t care who wins the fight unless it’s an American fighter against somebody else. I’m going for the American. But when it’s a regular fight with nothing like that involved, I have no personal feelings in the situation. I’m not getting not one thing from it, so I don’t really care.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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