Errol Spence Jr. opens up on surviving horrific car crash, previews Danny Garcia fight
IBF-WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. tells Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole about how his perspective on life has changed after his automobile accident and what it took for him to get back in the gym and begin training.
Video Transcript
KEVIN IOLE: Hey, folks. I am Kevin Iole. Welcome to Yahoo Sports. And my guest right now is a 2012 Olympian, a world champion, one of my favorite guests to have on. I've had him on a number of times. I think he's one of the best fighters in the world. I think on my pound-for-pound list, I think I got him number four. He's way up there, I know that. Welterweight Champ of the World, Earl Spence Jr.-- how are you, Errol?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Going good.
KEVIN IOLE: Attaway. So your first fight in quite a long time. You're fighting Danny Garcia in the headliner of a pay-per-event on December 5th. That's going to be a really big fight. What do you think you lose by being away? You had the auto accident a little over a year ago now. You've been away since then. What do you think you've lost in that time off? Let's start there.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I mean, I guess we going to have to see, because, I mean, I feel great, especially a week away from a fight. You know, I feel really good. I feel really prepared and strong, mentally and physically. So, I mean, right now, I don't think I lost anything, so, I mean, that's still to be seen, so we'll see, I guess, December 5th.
KEVIN IOLE: Was their any concern that, when you first had the accident, like, am I going to be able to fight again? And even after you got out of the hospital, I mean, how long was it before you were able to say, OK I know I'm going to be able to resume my career?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I mean, a little bit. I mean, of course, you know, that runs through your mind-- you know, are you going to be able to fight again? You know, I really didn't tell anybody that was running through my mind, but it was. I probably started training probably, like, two, three months after my accident, like, just hitting the mitts light and hitting the bag light, and just, you know, basically, you know, working my muscle, things like that. Just took my time and just gradually-- you know, and then I started sparring probably-- I want to say September I started sparring. So, I mean, for me, it was just, you know, taking it slow.
KEVIN IOLE: So September was, like, 11 months after your accident, so you really-- I mean, was that on the advice of doctors, or was it just you going by how you felt?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: It was me going how I felt, and, you know, just, you know, I knew I needed to take some time off, so it was basically taking some time off and just letting myself get back, you know, 100%.
KEVIN IOLE: We were all, you know, praying for you, of course, when the accident happened. I mean, it looked horrific when we saw that shocking video. I was actually in a plane crash that went down and burned, and so I kind of know sort of what that's like, to come so close. But did being in that accident change you in any way? Are you a different person now than you were before, because of having been through that and kind of your life being spared?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I think, you know, it changed, you know, my perspective on life. And, you know, being as young as I am, you know, you think you're invincible, you know, and think you're going to live forever. So, I mean, that too, and just, you know, especially spending some quality time with your loved ones and things like that. So I think it changed my overall perspective, just knowing that we're not going to be here forever, and get the most out of life as you can.
KEVIN IOLE: You know, you're coming back and you're not taking an easy fight. I mean, I've always been a big fan of Danny Garcia's talent. And for some reason-- I know you shouldn't pay attention, a lot of times to what people on the internet say-- but he seems like a guy that gets dogged a lot, right? And yet, I think he's a hard puncher, he's a pretty good boxer, has a lot of overall skills in there. So I'll start to hear, did you have any trepidation about taking a fight of the caliber of Danny Garcia for your first one, as opposed to getting a tune-up, where you had a chance to kind of just get the kinks out before you faced a really elite opponent?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: For me, I didn't want a tune-up. I didn't want somebody that I knew I was going to beat, or somebody I could knock out first round. I mean, that would basically still leave a lot of questions unanswered, and things like that, for the public and everything else, so I wanted a great opponent, a guy that can really fight, and a guy that's going to push me and make me work harder in training camp and things like that, and basically, that was Danny Garcia-- because I already supposed to fight him before the accident, so I just continued with my obligation.
KEVIN IOLE: So, you know, he has something that I don't know that you've faced before, and that's his father, Angel, who is good at getting into fighter's heads. He's a trash talker. He's a little bit out there. I don't know that he's really gone after you too much yet, but do you worry about that, and how do you keep yourself focused on the job at hand and not kind of responding to the things that Angel might say between now and fight night.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: For me, I mean, I really don't care. I find that it's funny. So for me, it's not-- you know, I've been watching Angel and how he reacts and how crazy he can get and things like that, so for me it's always been funny, so it couldn't get in my head.
KEVIN IOLE: Have you ever had a fighter-- you know, either in your amateur career or your pro career-- where it became a mental thing, like you know you're better than this guy but they got you so mad that you wanted to kill him because of what they had said?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Nah. Nah. Nah.
KEVIN IOLE: You never--
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Nah.
KEVIN IOLE: You're too chill, huh?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Yeah.
KEVIN IOLE: So what is the key to this fight for you? I mean, I think Garcia's a d-- you come off a nice win over Shawn Porter. You knock him down late in that fight. It was a tremendous fight. That was an exciting moment in the fight, when you put him on the floor.
Now you fight Garcia, a different style of fighter. So how does the strategy change for you, and what do you think is going to be the key for you to establish to win the fight?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: For me, just continue being explosive, you know, listen to my coach, make the adjustments. I feel like that's important throughout any fight, is adjustments and things like that, so just making adjustments and staying focused and making sure I'm sharp and on point and I'm strong.
KEVIN IOLE: So you talk about making adjustments. Let's go to the Porter fight. Was there any adjustment that you made-- I mean, because I think scoring, for some people, was all over the map, who was winning that fight-- you know, did you make any adjustments, feeling, OK, late in the fight, I need to do something that led to the knockout?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Nah, not really. I mean, come into that fight, I already had my mind made up. I was going to fight this fight and just come forward and it was just going to be what it was going to be. It was going to be a dog fight. So I probably made little adjustments, but for that fight, it was really just a dog fight. I really didn't have-- well, my coach had a strategy coming in, but I didn't have-- we just going to fight.
KEVIN IOLE: So you kind of did what Sugar Ray Leonard did in 1980 against Roberto Duran, because that was his first loss, and I think-- obviously, that happened before you were born, but I don't know if you've read about it, where Leonard decided, I want to show how tough I am, and he got in the pocket and stood there with Roberto Duran. Fought a great fight, but he ended up losing. Did you feel like you had that risk there, 'cause that's Shawn Porter's-- you know, kind of that brawling type fight. Was that a concern at all?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: It was a little bit of risk there, but I knew that I could fight in the inside as good as anybody, so it was just-- for me, it was about picking my shots and basically just fighting and out-willing somebody.
KEVIN IOLE: What is it going to be like for you, coming back? You're fighting at home, but you're going to have a small crowd there, right? I guess you did it in amateurs a lot, right? But as a pro, when the stakes are big and you have those crowds and they're chanting your name and all that type of stuff-- is it going to be a difficult adjustment to get used to that, and maybe you have periods in the fight when you're tired and you don't have that crowd to lift you and propel you? You think it'll be unusual?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I don't think it'll be unusual. I mean, it's not going to be a lot of people there, considering how big the Cowboys Stadium is.
KEVIN IOLE: Right.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: But 25,000 fans is still a lot, considering a boxing match. So for me, I'll be more electrified, just trying to get the win, so my whole thing is not letting another person beat me, regardless of fans, no fans, the fans cheering, or whatever we got fans there, things like that, but I'm motivated by something deeper.
KEVIN IOLE: I want to ask you-- I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about Terence Crawford. What was your thought? You fought Kell Brook. You know how tough Kell Brook is. What was your thought on his performance against Brook? Crawford, some people think is the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Obviously, you and he are rivals and are probably on a collision course at some point-- I hope sooner rather than later. What was your thought on his win over Brook?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I had no thoughts on it. I mean, I didn't have any--
KEVIN IOLE: Surely, you watched it, Errol. I know you watched it. You're a boxing fan.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Yeah, I watched it, but I didn't have any thoughts on it. I mean--
KEVIN IOLE: Do you feel like he's in your future? Is he a guy that you feel like it has to happen?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I don't know. I mean, is it going to happen if I don't get past Danny Garcia?
KEVIN IOLE: Right.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Yeah.
KEVIN IOLE: You know, he kind of has that laid back. He said-- let me ask you this-- he was asked, after the fight, by Lance Pugmire of The Athletic-- we were in his locker room-- don't you have to do something to promote, to try to call out Errol Spence so people will know you want it, and he said no. He said, I don't need to call him out, that's y'all's job-- meaning us in the media. Is that your attitude too? Do you feel like you don't need to call him out, or do you feel like there's so many good welterweights, you need to call each other out?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Man, to tell you the truth, I really just don't care. I mean, it is what it is. I mean, I got Danny Garcia in front of me, so if I don't get past him, what top welterweight or title-- Manny Pacquiao, anybody else-- going to fight me. So at the end of the day, when I get past Danny Garcia, then somebody can ask me about somebody else. But right now, total focus on Danny Garcia.
KEVIN IOLE: Fair enough. Fair enough. I'll just wrap up, a couple more questions going down down this path. When you get back-- I know you have to see how you feel and everything-- but is 2021 a year where you want to make up a little bit for lost time and try to be a little more active, given you lost roughly a year due to the accident?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Definitely. I want to come back in the summertime, so just got to make this fight go great and then come back in the summertime. But fighting somebody like Danny Garcia, who's still tough, could have easily been a world champion at 147 twice, with close losses Thurman and Porter. So, I mean, I'm making a splash December 5, then making another splash in the summertime.
KEVIN IOLE: You know, our mutual friend Tim Smith from the PBC-- you know, I don't know if you remember this-- when Pacquiao was fighting Thurman, I kind of used him as my producer for our preview show when we were doing the Pacquiao-Thurman preview show. And I got you on, and I remember saying-- I just interviewed Manny, and you walked on, and I said, looking at you next to Manny was like a light heavyweight against a lightweight, you know, your size. But you are a big welterweight, and so that begs the question, when you fight in the summer, are you confident you're still going to be a welterweight, or is there a possibility that you're going to move up and be in that super welterweight junior middleweight range?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Well, I think it's harder to lose weight in the wintertime than in summer. It's 110 degrees in Texas in the summer, and humid, so I find that way more easier to lose weight in the summertime than in the winter time, where it's cold-- and it's raining today. So, I mean, I find it a lot easier in the summer to lose weight, but I'll definitely make the weight.
KEVIN IOLE: Welterweight [INAUDIBLE]. OK, let's wrap it up on this. If I could-- I know you don't like to make predictions-- but what kind is it going to be? Is it going to be-- do you think it's going to be a similar fight to what Porter was, or do you think it'll be something like Thurman and Garcia had? You know, that was a really good fight. What do you see the style of the fight being?
ERROL SPENCE JR.: I see it as being a battle of minds and just a dog fight. I'm never in boring fights. Danny Garcia is never in boring fights, so I just see our clashing is going be a fight that everybody don't want to miss. It's going to be a great all-action fight.
KEVIN IOLE: Well, I can't wait to see that fight on December 5th on pay-per-view in Dallas-- I guess Arlington, right? So I should give Arlington a little love here. In Arlington, Texas, Earl Spence Jr. will defend his welterweight title against Danny Garcia. You can catch that on pay-per-view. Errol, thank you so much. Best of luck to you. See you soon.
ERROL SPENCE JR.: Thank you.