Errol Spence blames trainer, lifestyle for Crawford loss

Errol Spence has opened up about the training camp that preceded his one-sided loss to Terence Crawford in 2023, telling Andre Ward that poor preparation and lifestyle choices left him unprepared for the biggest fight of his career.

Speaking on Ward's podcast, the former unified welterweight champion said he went roughly six weeks without sparring partners and never worked with a southpaw to mimic Crawford's stance. "Man, that camp was bullsh-t," Spence said, according to Bad Left Hook. "It was all out of whack, but it got to a point to where my body felt like…basically, I was living wrong."

Spence criticizes Derrick James for mitts-only approach

Spence took direct aim at lead trainer Derrick James for failing to simulate fight conditions. "We just work the mitts. The whole time we were just working mitts," he said. "You would think he would put on some gloves and have me like blocking shots and whatnot, but it was none of that." He added that the full story would come out after retirement, saying he has proof of what went wrong.

The Texas native admitted he was living an undisciplined life outside camp, drinking and failing to maintain conditioning between fights. He said the uncertainty around whether he would box again after a 2022 car crash factored into his decision to take the Crawford payday despite knowing his body was not right. "Even out of camp you got to live right so once you get in camp, everything will be cool," he said. "Like now, I'm cool now because I've been living right."

Spence is scheduled to face Tim Tszyu on July 26 in Australia.

Photo: MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Original reporting:

• badlefthook.com — Errol Spence reflects on awful training camp for Terence Crawford fight | Bad Left Hook