‘Don’t jump back into that fight this year’: Hunter advises Spence against rematch with Crawford
Virgil Hunter says Errol Spence should really take some time to evaluate his health rather than seek a rematch with Crawford this year.
During an in depth interview with Fight Hub TV, trainer Virgil Hunter breaks down what transpired the fight between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford and explains why he is concerned about Spence going after an immediate rematch with Crawford later this year. Check out some excerpts of what Hunter had to say below.
“Coming off that type of trauma (from the car wreck) and getting hit with those types of shots — if it was me, if he was my guy, I would tell him ‘look, this is what you possibly could face, you could end up shuffling the rest of your life. But I can’t make a decision for you, all I can do is give you the best advice. Seek the best advice, seek the ways that this doesn’t happen again. There’s definitely got to be some changes made, we can’t go in the same way. But give yourself time, do not jump back into that fight this year.
“‘Give yourself time. If you need to stay in condition you can come to the gym after a couple months and stay in shape. You can box four or five rounds...maybe we’ll get a guy in there and simulate a fight...but do not go back in there this year.’ That’s what I would recommend.
“Right now it’s definitely pride talking, but he has to settle down and let reasoning come into the equation. He has to let common sense come into the equation. ‘Look, you’re gonna be a hall of famer, son. I believe that. You don’t have nothing to be ashamed of. But at the same time you have children that depend on you, you should do okay this fight, you should be fine for life and things like that. You have to think about your health, you have to think about what you’ve been through.’
“Even before the accident he admitted to me one time that he wasn’t living the best lifestyle, and then that wasn’t a big secret in the boxing world. This is irreversible damage. I had an old trainer tell me once drinking is worse than cocaine for a fighter. And I used to warn Adrien (Broner) about it and things like that. It don’t take long, man. It’s irreversible damage to your organs...when it’s gone you’re not getting it back. It’s not coming back.
“I understand, I would probably feel the same way, My pride would be bruised, my ego would be bruised I had to eat my words. This happened in front of the world. It’s not an easy thing to live with. But if Errol can hear what I’m saying, it’s okay. It’s okay. Five years from now only boxing people will be talking about it but you will be remembered as a great fighter and a great champion. And so that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“In this sport it’s always gonna be somebody to come along better than you. If Crawford hang around too long, it’ll happen to him. So I just want (Spence) to give himself time to be very reasonable, to look at your children, go to the neurologist, go to the doctor, get the honest opinion. Don’t get the opinion that you want to hear, get the honest opinion from two or three of them...and if they all telling you the same thing and you willing to gamble on your health and you willing to gamble on your life because of pride, then there’s nothing I can tell you.
“He could be one fight away from permanent damage. We don’t know how much damage this fight has done. What we see on the face, there’s a lot more going on on the inside. He has to pay attention, his parents have to pay attention to his speech patterns, his walk patterns, his reactive patterns. He needs to be tested neurologically, he needs to be tested. He needs to go through a battery of tests, brain scans, things like that. He needs to cover all the bases. Don’t play with your health, don’t play with your life. You got a full life ahead of you.”