2013
was a busy year for rising prospect Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr.
He had as busy a first year as I can recall, turning pro in November
of 2012, winning both his fights to close out that year. His activity
didn't relent in 2013, going 8-0 with six stoppage wins. The southpaw
welterweight out of Desoto, Texas fought often because the majority
of his opponents were blasted out early by the boxer-puncher's mixed
head and body attack, leaving him with little damage. While that
activity allowed him to stay in sharp between fights, it also took a
bit of a toll.
“It's
always good to be active; you know? Especially this being my first
year, I was getting guys out of there early, knocking them out early.
I wanted to be active,” Spence told Maxboxing.com on Wednesday. “It
kind of took a toll on me like kind of towards the end of the year.
Like July to August, I kind of got burnt out a little bit physically
because I was constantly training and not really taking any days off
except Sunday. After I'd stop a guy or after I'd win, I'd get another
fight in the next month, so I got burnt out a little bit. But now
after a rest, I feel 100% and I am ready to start 2014 on the right
foot.”
The
reason Spence is being fast-tracked a bit in terms of TV exposure and
development is his combination of skill, natural ability and an
emotional maturity that belies his 23 years. You can hear it in his
voice, the way he thoughtfully breaks down his experiences in the
ring and is open to exploring how he might improve.
“My
team has a lot of confidence in me. They told me they want to move me
and develop me faster than other guys because they have a lot of
confidence,” said Spence.
It's
not a boast of any kind. That isn't his style at all, more an
admission of reality as it is. Of the graduating U.S. Olympic class
of 2012, Spence seems to be moved quickest toward title contention.
Part of that development has included being matched with fighters who
won't simply lay down at first touch. While he has had six first
round stoppages, two outings have lasted the four and eight-round
distances. The first was Luis Torres, who was 4-2-3 when Spence faced
him. The 21-year-old out of Kissimmee, Florida lost every round but
was tough and durable, allowing the then 3-0 Spence to be extended
and learn a valuable, early-career lesson.
“I
learned that you can't knock everybody out,” Spence said of the
fight. “I mean, not everybody is going to go down. Especially being
a young guy and you're knocking people out in your pro fights. That
fight shows you that sometimes you are going to have to go the
distance. You'll always have to be in shape because not everybody is
going to go early.”
The
other fighter who went the distance was Ghanaian southpaw Emanuel
Lartei Lartey, at the time, 15-0-1 (7) with a physique built to
handle everything Spence could dish out. It was tough fight for
Spence to take, being a 8-0 fighter who'd been scheduled for six
round bouts but had only ventured as deep as the fourth. But he got
what he asked for.
“That's
the fight I wanted to take. [The matchmakers] said a lot of guys
didn't want that fight, so I took the fight. It was a hard fight,”
recalled Spence, who finally looked like he had been in a fight after
the eight-round unanimous decision win. “I knew [Lartey] was going
to test me physically and mentally because I think previous to me, he
had beaten a guy on 'ESPN Friday Night Fights.' That is the fight I
wanted to take. I wanted to get tested.”
A
32-year-old fighter versus a 23-year-old fighter is going to present
some challenges. Strength, experience and maturity all come into
play, especially in a distance fight.
“He
was more durable than other opponents. You get that a lot with guys
from Ghana. They are very durable. He was real strong too,” said
Spence. “He had 'man strength.' I just stuck to the game plan and
everything worked out well.”
Arguably
the most challenging aspect of Lartey was that like Spence, he is a
southpaw. Left-handers are used to facing right-handed fighters for
the most part. But fighting a mirror image changes everything. Rather
than moving right against an orthodox fighter, suddenly a southpaw
finds himself having to circle left. Punch selection, defense -
everything - changes a bit.
“It
threw me off a little bit but I relied on my experience as an
amateur. I fought a lot of southpaws in the amateurs. I adapt to it
well. There's not that much [southpaw] sparring where I am from. As
far as southpaw sparring, there was one guy. I just had to adjust and
use my amateur experience. Nobody really likes to fight southpaws.
Southpaws don't really like to fight another southpaw because its a
mess,” he laughed. “I say it's a mess because [of the opposite
movement] and then you're throwing the hook the opposite way. Most
southpaws are used to fighting orthodox fighters. It's different. You
have to really focus.”
Spence
focused to the tune of a near-shutout victory over Lartey, leaving
him time for one more victory, a first round stoppage of Gerardo
Cuevas in a December stay-busy bout.
Looking
back at his first year as a professional boxer, Spence assessed how
he had grown and changed as a fighter.
“Oh,
definitely,” agreed Spence when asked if he had discovered new
punches and avenues of attack. “My body shots, my left uppercut to
the body because I had hurt my right hand earlier in the year. It was
hurt for a while so I had to rely more on my left. In the amateurs, I
was more of a right hook guy. I'd throw a lot of right hooks to the
body and the head, so I had to rely more on my straight lefts and my
left uppercut.”
Besides
taking off the head gear and putting on smaller gloves, the length of
bouts is the biggest transition from amateurs to pros. The rounds are
now a minute longer and the fights continue to increase. In one
year's time, Spence went from four-rounders to six to eight. In his
next bout, scheduled for either February 10 or 15 (pushed back from a
proposed bout on January 25), he will be scheduled to go 10 rounds
for the first time. That eight-rounder with Lartey was a perfect way
to find out for himself just how big the Spence gas tank is.
“I
also found out about myself that I can go eight rounds,” said
Spence. “A lot of young guys, when they have never been eight
rounds or past six rounds, that's always in the back of their mind. I
don't care what they say. It's always in the back of your mind. Can
you go them rounds? So that was a big confidence booster that I went
that many rounds and I did it at a good pace too. I think I was
throwing like 80 punches a round.”
Spence
said he didn't feel like he held back anything in the win but does
feel he is still learning to relax in the ring.
“I
think I exerted a lot of energy but not too much. I'm used to
throwing [a high volume] of punches. That's what we work on in the
gym. But I kind of want to settle down a little bit more, just relax
a little bit more and pick my punches a little bit more. I was
throwing five, six-punch combinations. I just want to relax and be
more comfortable,” he said.
For now, the plan is for
Spence to either fight in either San Antonio on February 10 or
California on February 15. Until then, he will remain in Texas
preparing for a year he hopes will take him through transition from
high-level prospect to contender in the title hunt.
“By
the end of this year, I want to be fighting guys or get a chance to
be fighting guys in the top five, top 10, definitely, fighting those
caliber guys,” declared Spence. “My goal is this year is I don't
want to be known as a prospect. I want to be known as a contender.”
Is there a style he would
like to face in particular as he develops?
“I'm not really too
picky. Me being in Texas, of course, I fight a lot of Mexican
fighters. I fight a lot of guys who come forward, who like to fight.
We really don't see a lot of guys who box but I fought a lot of
boxers in the amateurs. I am not really picky on which styles I fight
or looking for a style to fight,” Spence said.
As he ascends the ranks,
the scrutiny will grow along with the notoriety. More people will
come out of the woodwork claiming to be Spence fans all along while
simply looking to jump on the train and get a piece of his rising
popularity. Using fellow Al Haymon/Golden Boy Promotions fighter
Adrien Broner, who recently suffered his first loss, as a potential
cautionary tale of “too much too soon,” I asked Spence what he
could learn from that.
“It can happen to
anybody, a loss. Adrien Broner, it's not like he lost to a somebody
who is not a world-class fighter. [Marcos] Maidana is a world-class
fighter. Very strong, he's a big fighter too. Adrien Broner jumping
up two weight classes to face a big fighter who can punch, Maidana is
dangerous for anybody,” assessed Spence, who showed class in not
piling on his fellow fighter. “But I don't see myself getting lost
[in success]. As long as I stay grounded, stay focused, keep my feet
on the ground and listen to my team, I feel like the sky is the
limit. I can do whatever. I can beat anybody.”
Last year in the books,
the table is set for Errol Spence Jr. to show the boxing world
exactly why he is nicknamed “The Truth.”
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