Boxing Rumors: Frank Martin Follows Errol Spence Jr.’s Lead to Fire Trainer Derrick James After KO Loss vs. Gervonta Davis

‘The Ghost’s’ first attempt at a world title collapsed at ‘Tank’s altar. Despite his brave attempt, Frank Martin didn’t have any answer to Gervonta Davis‘s unrelenting barrage. One of the reasons cited for his defeat was that he failed to pay heed to his trainer, Derrick James’ advice. But it looks like Martin has made up his mind about where the blame lies.

In a tweet, New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) inductee and veteran matchmaker Rick Glaser said rumors are rife that Frank Martin and long-time trainer Derrick James have decided to part ways. That’s not all; the message carries additional information about how, if at all true, Martin arrived at the decision.

Could we see another courtroom battle involving Derrick James?

Rick Glaser wrote, “Rumors abound that trainer #DerrickJames has been fired by #FrankMartin.” The message further suggested that Errol Spence Jr. may have played a key role in influencing Frank Martin’s decision. “And Frank is prompted by #ErrolSpence, who also previously fired Derrick James,” it read.

Derrick James began training Frank Martin in 2020, after the boxer’s first cousin, NFL linebacker Jaylon Smith approached James and Errol Spence in 2020. Since that year, Martin and Jame have been working together, but it looks like the trainer will have a second high profile split in a matter of months.

Errol Spence Jr. split from James earlier this year in March, after his 9th round KO defeat to Terence Crawford in July last year. On April 17 this year, James filed a lawsuit against Spence Jr. seeking damages upward of $5 million related to pending payment from the former unified welterweight champion. On the same day, Spence filed a countersuit seeking declaratory relief.

Recalling the lawsuit, Rich Glaser wondered whether the award-winning trainer’s relationship with Frank Martin would also meet a similar fate. But is Derrick James to be blamed for Martin’s first loss in his senior career?

Apparently, prior to his eighth round knockout, Derrick James had asked ‘The Ghost’ to follow to his advice. He asked Martin to move towards his left and not his right in order to tackle ‘Tank’ and his vicious punches. Frank did not oblige and paid the price for it.

Davis set him up with an uppercut in the corner and followed it up with a devastating left hook to knock Martin flat on the mat and secure a 28 KO in 30 fights. After the bout, Martin admitted that he got too comfortable leading up the final rounds.

“I got comfortable chilling on the ropes, trying to find that bigger shot. It wasn’t presenting itself, I stopped doing my movement. Once I stopped doing my movement, he was able to land more shots,” he said. Since Martin acknowledged his mistake, the rumor that he is set to part ways with James will make little sense. However, there is more to this story.

Before the fight, there was a question of whether the Errol Spence Jr. lawsuit may have affected and Derrick James and Frank Martin’s preparation for the fight. This is something Spence Jr. himself addressed.

Did legal case involving Derrick James affect Martin’s preparation?

Spence Jr. and James worked together for 11 years before their split earlier this year. But their legal battle indicates a soured relationship. Both parties have said that they worked on a handshake agreement, according to which James would receive 10% of the fighter’s purse. Following each fight, Spence would deliver a check.

But the argument that James made is that he should be getting 10% of the total revenue earned by Spence Jr., and not just the amount listed on his contract. However, the argument from Spence Jr.’s side is that James was entitled only to 10% of the purse listed for the fight in his agreement, not what he was paid in total.

This legal battle was thought to have affected the preparation for Martin’s big fight against Davis, but Spence Jr. dismissed those concerns.

Speaking to Boxing News, he said on 13 June, he said, “Nah, things are going smoothly. It’s all about Frank Martin, so we didn’t get into any of that. 100% about Frank.” But questions remain. Now that the rumors of Martin firing James have emerged, we would have to wait to hear from either one of them to know what has happened between the two.

It will be interesting to see if the relationship between James and Martin will deteriorate similar to the situation between the 2022 ”Trainer of the Year” and Spence Jr.

What’s your take on the tweet from Rick Glaser? Please share your views with us in the comments below.