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By: Hans Themistode
Errol Spence Jr. may not say much, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t listening.
For years the unified welterweight champion was credited for his knockout power but his boxing ability was questioned before he took on Mikey Garcia in March of 2019. His ability to fight on the inside may have been highly touted but in no way could he outmuscle and outwork Shawn Porter in a physical fight.
While the chirping regarding his skills continued, Spence Jr. just kept his mouth shut and continued to work on his craft. The results of that hard work came in the form of arguably the two best performances of his career.
“With the Shawn Porter fight I could’ve beat him easily on the outside like I did with Mikey Garcia but my whole game plan was just to fight,” explained Spence Jr. during an episode of First Take on ESPN. “I wanted to show people that I could beat him on the inside and that’s what I did. With Mikey Garcia, I wanted to show people that I could box because people said he has a better boxing IQ than me so I showed people that I could box.”
With passing grades on both of those tests, Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) is currently putting the finishing touches on a training camp that lasted well over six months. The reason behind his protracted training was because of his horrific car wreck in October of 2019 which has subsequently left him sidelined for well over a year, as well as his showdown with former two-division world titlist Danny Garcia.
Going into his contest against Mikey, Spence Jr. knew that his opponent was known for his boxing abilities. In his matchup with Porter, Spence Jr. placed an emphasis on outworking his man on the inside. In the case of Garcia though, the Dallas southpaw isn’t necessarily focusing on one of his opponent’s traits. Instead, he’s worked on his overall game and plans on showing the difference between the two this Saturday night.
“With this fight, I’m going to show that I’m just an all-around better fighter. On the inside, outside, with the jab, combination, hooks – whatever you want to do in the ring I can do better than Danny Garcia.”
For Spence Jr., winning is the objective, but doing so dominantly is the ultimate goal. With title runs in two separate weight classes, Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) has never been outclassed in the ring. Even with two ultra close losses on his record to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter – many believe Garcia could easily be an undefeated titleholder. So while picking up the win would add another high caliber name to his resume, Spence Jr. is aiming to do what no one has ever done to Garcia come fight night.
“Danny Garcia’s resume, especially at 140, was great. He was a unified champion and things like that. He’s a great fighter and I feel like nobody has beaten him decisively and really put a hurting on him or you know, punished him. For me to do that, that would speak volumes. That’s what I’m looking to do. I’m looking to have this a one-sided beating.”
