Errol Spence Jr’s (28-1, 22 KOs) loss to Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) in July 2023 shattered his dreams of becoming the undisputed welterweight champion. Post this devastating loss, there were rumors about Spence cutting ties with his long-time trainer, Derrick James. ‘KingRy’ Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), who is currently training under James’ watchful eye for his highly anticipated showdown against Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), recently took to social media to accuse Spence of being disloyal to his former trainer.
In a rather incendiary rant on Discord, Garcia minced no words while discussing his disapproval of Spence’s actions. He alleged that Spence was disloyal to his former trainer and denied him fair compensation. “F*ck Errol! Yeah, f*ck Errol. You ain’t with Derrick James, you motherf*cker. You folded; you didn’t want to pay him some money,” he said.
Garcia mentioned that while the game is a business, at the end of the day, Spence’s actions towards James were unacceptable. “At the end of the day, that’s some f*cked up sh*t. Hell, I pay him more on a fight I made less. Come on. He’s been with you your whole career. What the f*ck is wrong with you?” Garcia said.
In a previous interview with Cigar Talk, James’ demeanor failed to hide the flaring tension between him and Spence after the Crawford fight. When asked about Spence, James even revealed that he was focused on his “other guys.”
“As Good As He Wants To Be”
With merely days before Garcia aims his mitts at Haney, James surely has his hands full. Talking to Beto Duran on the Golden Boy livestream, James revealed that he is preparing Garcia mentally and physically for ‘The Dream.’ However, he added that it is a joint effort as Garcia should be willing to put in the work too.
“To be a boxer, you have to be willing to give up something. [Garcia] can be as good as he wants to be,” he said. He further spoke about how he initially did not want to work with Garcia, but he took him in because he was willing to put in the work.
Meanwhile, James revealed that his training days are over after the Garcia vs Haney fight. “I am not taking any fighters after this. I am done. I am out of boxing. I am packing up,” he said.
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