Ahead of Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr.’s unification fight against Yordenis Ugas this Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the welterweight king dished on how Floyd Mayweather motivated him through shame.
Spence joined the podcast “The Pivot,” where he talked about his experience sparring with boxing Hall of Famer and the sports resident cash cow, Floyd Mayweather.
Spence (27-0) revealed how he gained Mayweather’s respect after a couple of fights into his pro career by the end of their sparring session.
“Money” May Out Work You
“I was like 2-0 and I got invited to his training camp; I think it was against Robert Guerrero. I was just there watching him, and I was like a sponge, just soaking up everything to take back home and implement them into my game.
“He was training like he dead broke, like he needed a pair of drawers. He was training hard. That’s the biggest thing I got out of it. It didn’t matter what was going on; he was going to get his work in regardless.”
Then “Money May” gave Spence a massive dose of his notoriously direct opinion to remind him that he was working with self-proclaimed “The Best Ever.”
“Money” May Disrespect You
“We went on sparring for like five to seven minutes in a row,” Spence continued, “and we got out of the ring, and he said to me, ‘You all right for a b***h,’ and I didn’t hear him at first, and then he said it again.
“So I was like, ‘Okay, let’s put our sh*t back on. I said turn off the clock; we can go until somebody drops. We went in there and sparred for eight or nine more minutes and then he said, ‘Aight, that’s enough.’ I think I earned his respect though, he a dog, he’s like that for real.”
Spence is a 2012 U.S. Olympian who owns the WBC and IBF welterweight world titles. He’s been on a roll as the new dominant force in the division, but it was almost derailed when an October 2019 car accident left him hospitalized and his burgeoning career in jeopardy.
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When Life Comes At You Fast
“It was a wake-up call, the most important thing, it gave me perspective,” said Spence. “Really made me sit down. I realized that all that outside distraction is really not important. What’s important are your family and the people close to you. Because when it’s over, that’s all you’ve got. It made me realize that I’m out here playing on borrowed time.
“Then I started watching Eric Thomas and Les Brown and getting all them affirmations and things in my mind to keep going.
“Who can hurt me? If concrete couldn’t break anything in my body, so I feel like a man definitely can’t break me. Then coming straight out of the gate and fighting a guy like Danny Garcia, who is an ex world champion in multiple weight classes.”
Spence, who since has made a victorious return to the ring in December 2020, said the accident woke him up to new realities in his career and life.
Back On Track
“Everybody gets led astray a little bit,” Spence said. “It got to the point where I was kind of wandering. When you get to a certain age, and you’re making money, and you’re the man, you think you know everything.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that you got to have discipline when you’re not in training camp. That’s the biggest factor. I wasn’t in that type of shape. I’d probably get to like 180, 185, and I was fighting at 147 pounds. I would be running in the morning with a sauna suit and then take a hot bath, trying to lose weight, running at night and going to the gym trying to kill myself to make the weight.”
The Ferrari Factor
Like many athletes that are young, rich, and flashy, it took a hard reality check to make him appreciate his position. He even named a white horse on his farm Ferrari, after the car he was driving during his accident.
“I’m always going to be reminded of the crash and I wanted to be reminded of the crash,” said Spence. “It definitely was a lesson, for my kids and it’s molded me into the man I am today.
“It made me be with my family more and realize that a lot of things that I thought were important, or just things that I was indulging in, were not as important as having the core strength of being with my family.”
