Errol Spence: “I’d Beat Floyd Mayweather, Break Him Down”

Still recovering from an ugly car accident last fall, the Desoto, Texas native is talking big and eying gigantic targets.

“I Would Beat Floyd"

“100% focused, in my prime, I think I would beat Floyd [Mayweather]," Spence told Showtime"s All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “He’s very mentally tough. I would cut him off, I would use my jab…throw combinations, work the body and then work the head… I’d try to break him down physically, because I know I’m not gonna break him down mentally."

In Spence"s last two fights, he showcased abilities that might lead one to believe he could actually upset Mayweather.

Reasons to Believe

Against four-division world champ Mikey Garcia, in last year"s Cowboys" Stadium event, he proved himself to be calm and cool under the pay-per-view spotlight. He would take a one-sided decision from the skilled Mexican-American technician.

Then, last September, Spence would go to war with a hard-charging Shawn Porter and beat the then-defending WBC welterweight champ at his own game. In the Porter fight, Spence showed himself to be tough and tenacious in pursuit of victory against an opponent who absolutely came to win.

Time-Travel Fight Club

Could a prime Spence beat a prime Mayweather? That"s something that could never be answered– unless someone invents a time machine and starts a time-travel fight club. But could Spence, in the here and now, beat Mayweather in the here and now? The answer is “yes, most definitely."

Spence, despite the car accident, is 30 years old and in his physical prime. Mayweather is 43 and has been inactive for nearly three years. It would be an oddly foolish career decision for the always-shrewd Mayweather to even entertain the idea of a bout against Spence.

And, of course, Spence has to know this.

In the Here and Now

In the present tense, the two-belt world champ has resumed training. He is taking this forced, pandemic-related down time as a blessing in disguise. He can train and gradually ease himself back into fighting shape without any pressure to step back into the ring. He"s also taking last fall"s car accident as a true life lesson.

" [I] Don’t take anything for granted. Around that time, I was taking a lot of stuff for granted. I think I was headed down that way anyway. I was headed down that path to destruction anyway. I was taking a lot of stuff for granted. It was showing…I was already heading to destruction I think and that car accident was eye-opening for me."

Armed with a new lease on life and dedication to the straight and narrow, Spence would do well to work himself towards legacy fights with Terence Crawford and/or Manny Pacquiao. In the immediate future, though, expect a tune-up bout when boxing resumes and then a mandated obligatory challenge by former two-division titlist Danny Garcia.

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