ERROL SPENCE: "I'M READY TO JUMP IN THE POOL WITH THE SHARKS"
By Percy Crawford | February 14, 2014
"I'm more comfortable in there and I just feel at home in there now. I feel kind of like I felt in the amateurs because I was real comfortable to let my hands go and just kind of zone out. You got to see that a little bit in my first year and now I'm ready to jump in the pool with the sharks," stated fast-rising undefeated welterweight Errol Spence, who talked about his impressive 4th round stoppage of Peter Oluoch, his future plans, and much more. Chekc it out!
PC: You kicked your year off right. Congratulations on your 4th round knockout. How do you feel about your performance?
ES: I feel I did good. I feel I did pretty good and did a lot of good things in there; defense was good and I used my jab. The main thing I was doing was staying patient and not getting in a rush and rush in there and try to get a knockout. I was staying patient and worked off of my offense and my defense.
PC: Patience has definitely been the key in your last two fights. You were in with some tough African fighters in your last two and if you blow your load against those guys, that's when they come on. Was that the mindset?
ES: Yeah man. African fighters are real durable. They are known to be real durable and they can take a lot of punishment and come back and throw some shots too. I just wanted to be real patient and break him down and then try to get him out of there after I broke him down, and that's what happened. He was taking my punches real well in the first two rounds, but then in the third and fourth round, he started wearing down and he wasn't taking them so well. So it worked just to stay patient and break him down.
PC: A lot of young guys get either right-hand happy or left-hand happy, or kind of over-search for their "money punch." You work both hands very well and seem to punch well with both hands to the body and head. Do you feel eventually that quality will separate you from the pack?
ES: Yeah, definitely; especially when I start fighting high-caliber guys and world championship type of guys. You can't just hit them guys with one punch over and over and over. They'll figure it out and switch it up on you. You gotta use both hands and add different arsenal to your game, especially if you want to compete at the top level with these guys.
PC: When you are fighting a guy like Peter Oluoch, who hasn't fought in the states much, if you get footage and it's real distorted, is it just a matter of seeing a round or so of them so you know what to expect?
ES: Yeah, I mean, I watch a couple of rounds every now and again and that's good. I just see like the little stuff that they do and how fast they are, or if they drop their hands; little tendencies. I usually just watch just the first two rounds or the last round or something like that, but this guy, I didn't see any footage of him. I didn't know how he was gonna fight, but I figured he would be real durable because I see he went 12 rounds before. I knew he would be durable, but I'm fresh out of the amateurs where we didn't know who we were fighting or the style that we were fighting; you just show up and fight whoever is in front of you.
PC: Not only are you stepping up the competition, but your skill set is constantly improving as well. Where do you feel like you have improved most from fight 1 to fight 11?
ES: I think just comfort level in the ring from my first fight; my first three or four fights and now. I'm more comfortable in there and I just feel at home in there now. I feel kind of like I felt in the amateurs because I was real comfortable to let my hands go and just kind of zone out. You got to see that a little bit in my first year and now I'm ready to jump in the pool with the sharks!
PC: It seemed like once Oluoch realized he wasn't gonna be able to box with you, he was trying to lure you into something big. Were you conscious of that or being told to be watchful for it in your corner in between rounds?
ES: Ah yeah, definitely. He was trying to catch me with the counter straight right hand. I think he caught me one time with it and I adjusted by putting my left hand in front of my face so I could block it. But yeah, he was trying to catch me with the counter right when I was trying to go straight down the middle, so sometimes I would step to the right or step to the left so I would miss his punch, but yeah, we were conscious of that.
PC: It wasn't Desoto, but it was Texas and they came out and supported you in a big way. What was it like to fight in your home state and get the reception that you received?
ES: Ah man, it's great. It's my home state, so it's a great thing that I'm fighting here early and letting people get familiar with me, so when I do fight for a title or an eliminator or something like that and I fight in Texas, I will draw a big crowd because they will already be familiar with me from when I was 9-0, 10-0, and 11-0. They will be familiar with me when I step up to the big stage and I want to fight in my hometown. I wouldn't have to do so much promotion because everybody would already know about me.
PC: We always talk about activity. How soon can we expect you back and how often can we expect to see you this year?
ES: I'm looking to go 7 times this year; probably fight 7 times this year. My next fight should be at the end of April, late April or early May. I'm still talking to my manager about it and hopefully I get in there in April.
PC: You have a lot of eyes on you right now, so congrats on being noticed as a major player in the game, and definitely congrats on another spectacular performance. Is there anything you want to add, Errol?
ES: I appreciate everybody for tuning in to my fight and everybody who came to my fight, and keep up with my career. I'm looking for a world title probably by the beginning of next year.
