Ryan Garcia Vows to Beat Errol Spence Jr. for Not Paying “$5 Million” to Coach Derrick James

Conflicts between a fighter and their coach are commonplace in a sport like boxing. However, the conflict between Errol Spence Jr. and his former coach Derrick James has managed to spill over into a full-blown lawsuit. And guess what? Fresh off his upset victory over Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia has vowed to make Spence Jr. pay for it. 

Spence and James have been collaborating since the 2012 summer Olympics in London. However, the duo parted ways after Spence lost his zero at the hands of Terence Crawford last year. Yet, it just kick-started their feud. On April 17, James filed a lawsuit against Spence pursuing a $5 million compensation alleging breach of contract, fraud, and misrepresentation. So, to avenge his coach, Ryan Garcia, who started working with James in May last year, called out ‘The Truth’ during a recent X space conversation. 

Ryan Garcia claims Errol Spence Jr. fight more vital than Gervonta Davis

Speaking to a bunch of people on X, Garcia said, “I wanna fight Spence first and then take out Tank.” Boxing n BBQ shared the clip of the conversation with the caption reading, “Ryan says he wants Errol Spence first to avenge his coach Derrick James. Ryan is not happy that [Spence] didn’t pay [James] ‘5 million’ that he owes him.”

However, this isn’t the first time Garcia has voiced his disdain about Spence Jr. Besides name dropping Spence right after his fight against Haney, Garcia ruthlessly bashed Spence in a prior X Space conversation on 14 April. According to a report from George Glinski  of talkSport, Garcia said, “F*** Errol! Yeah, f*** Errol. You ain’t with Derrick James, you mother****. You folded, you didn’t want to pay him some money.”

“That’s f****d up. It’s all business, but still, at the end of the day, that’s some f****d s*** up. Hell, I pay him more on a fight I made less. Come on. He’s been with you your whole career. What the f*** is wrong with you,” Garcia added. However, it’s also worth understanding why James filed a lawsuit against Spence Jr. Here’s what Derrick James’ lawsuit says!

Derrick James’ cut: A fight for fair compensation

As per a report from Boxing Scene, the 52-year-old trainer alleges Spence Jr. has failed to provide him with the 10% of the earnings from his fights, especially the fight against Terence Crawford. Moreover, according to the court documents and shared text conversations submitted as evidence, Spence made somewhere around $25 million from the PPV bonuses and guaranteed purse. 

Even though James received $350K from the Crawford fight, he alleges Spence had calculated the amount out of just $2.5 million, which is $250K plus $100K bonus. However, James suggests the 10% should be calculated based on Spence’s total revenue, which is PPV plus a guaranteed purse. So, James is now seeking $5 million in compensation. 

Having just caused a major upset, Ryan Garcia seems to be on a mission to avenge his coach. However, whether Errol Spence Jr. responds to the callout is yet to be seen. Do you think Spence should pay James the money? Or should they fight?