Welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr. raised some eyebrows when he said recently that he’d beat a prime Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather’s response? Respect for the young fighter.
“I’m proud of him,” Mayweather told FightHype.com,” He’s supposed to believe in his skills, he’s supposed to believe in his talent.
“I want all these fighters to believe if they were facing Floyd Mayweather, they would win.”
Spence made his comments on the “All the Smoke” podcast.
“One hundred percent focus, in my prime, I think I’d beat Floyd,” Spence said. “… I’d just try to break him down physically. I know he’s not going to be broken down mentally. He’s just one of those type fighters, just like Shawn Porter. You can break him down physically, but mentally, he’s always going to be there.”
He went on: “I’d cut him off. I’d use my jab. Even the Oscar De La Hoya fight, Oscar De La Hoya should have used his jab a lot more. I’d have used my jab. I’d throw my combinations. I’d work the body and then work the head. A lot of people go to the head and then work the body.”
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) is considered one of the best active fighters. He’s No. 7 on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list.
The welterweight titleholder is fortunate to have survived a horrific, car-flipping accident in October, only a few weeks after he outpointed Shawn Porter in a sensational fight in Los Angeles.
Spence is able to train but not spar. He lost teeth in the accident, which required posts to be implanted in his mouth. He can’t resume sparring until the posts are replaced by permanent teeth.
He doesn’t have an opponent in place for when the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
