The relationship between Errol Spence Jr and his trainer Derrick James seems to have broken down as news has emerged that James has filed a lawsuit in pursuit of payments owed to him from the former welterweight world champion.
James is still riding high off a huge weekend that saw one of his other charges, Ryan Garcia, score a stunning upset winner over Devin Haney.
He now has to turn his focus to other matters and has gone on the offensive against Spence Jr by filing the lawsuit in Dallas County, Texas, in which he seeks “no less than $5 million” for fraud and breach of contact.
This news has been confirmed by a message on X Jake Donovoan, a senior writer at Ring Magazine.
“Derrick James has filed a lawsuit against Errol Spence with the Dallas County District Court. James, the 2022 Trainer of the Year, seeks damages in excess of $5,000,000, nearly half from what he believes he’s still owed from Terence Crawford fight last July.”
It is claimed in the lawsuit by James that he “discovered Spence’s breach of contract, fraudulent business practices and misrepresentations after Spence received the $25 million guaranteed fight purse” for his fight against Terence Crawford last July, but has only passed on $350,000 to James.
That fight ended in Spence’s first defeat and a bad one too that saw him take plenty of punishment before being stopped in the mid-rounds.
He was left without a title while Crawford became the undisputed four belt king – the second time he has achieved that feat having already done so at a previous weight.
If Spence does now return to the ring, it will likely be with another coach, although he has made no comment on this subject as of yet.
Spence and James have been working together since before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London so have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship before this, while James has also famously trained Anthony Joshua and Jerrell Charlo in recent times.
The pair’s dispute is, according to Boxing Scene, centred on the definition of a guaranteed fight purse. Spence is assured funds from a bout agreement, but he also benefits from the additional revenue generated by pay-per-view sales, significantly increasing his total earnings.
However, Spence has not provided a breakdown of his earnings from pay-per-view fights, including his wins over Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Yordenis Ugas, and Crawford.
It seems as though this is one fight that could go on and on for Spence, and is one that will be a huge distraction from him returning to boxing action if and when he does, meanwhile Crawford is all set to challenge for a world title in a new weight division in August.
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