In this post-fight interview with Errol Spence’s trainer Derrick James, James explains why he thinks Mikey Garcia won’t be the same fighter following this loss to Spence...
On Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson picking Garcia to win:
“Well..I was so shocked and surprised but sometimes people don’t know what they’re seeing. Or they think they see something that they don’t see. In a fight like this Mikey Garcia will never be the same. And not from the punishment and abuse he took, but everything he thought about himself, it was proven not to be true...
“I always wanted Mikey to fight Lomachenko — I thought he had the ability to beat him. But after the fight now I would say that that he might not be the best guy.”
On what impressed him most about Spence’s performance:
“I mean, just the fact that he listened. He did everything we wanted. From the word ‘go’ it was everything we worked on...what’s funny about it is if he wasn’t boxing so much he would’ve knocked him out. If he wasn’t using his jab too much, he would’ve knocked him out. That’s really the truth.”
On how much better Spence can get at this point:
“He’s good, man. He’s a really good fighter, he’s great. I think it’s just about him showing more dimensions to what he already has.”