There’s been rumors swirling for at least a couple of months now, but it appears the working relationship between Errol Spence and his longtime trainer Derrick James has come to head as Jake Donovan reports that James has filed a lawsuit against Spence where he’s looking for over $5 million in damages, most of which is said to be due to him from Spence’s last fight against Terence Crawford.
If you’ve followed any of Ryan Garcia’s rantings lately, he’s also been pretty openly talking about the rift and urging Spence to pay James, also teasing that he’s paid James more for his services in fights where he’s made less than Spence.
Spence has also filed a counter lawsuit against James, disputing the terms of their contractual agreement with James and has made vague indications online about needing to find a new home, pretty much confirming that the pair will no longer be working together.
In this sport it’s not uncommon to see longtime relationships between fighters and trainers turn cold in a hurry once the first big loss hits, and this situation appears to be no different.