“Beat you up!” Ryan Garcia threatens Errol Spence Jr. for being in a legal battle with trainer Derrick James

Derrick James and Errol Spence are currently in a legal tussle, which has now prompted Ryan Garcia to threaten the fighter.

“Beat you up!” Ryan Garcia threatens Errol Spence Jr. for being in a legal battle with trainer Derrick James

Ryan Garcia, Derrick James, and Errol Spence (image credit- Boxing Scene)

Ryan Garcia and Derrick James have become quite close since they started training after the Gervonta Davis loss. As such, he has been able to bounce back in his career with two victories against Oscar Durate and Devin Haney. KingRy has also referred to him as a father figure and has spoken about his close relationship with him. This relationship has now prompted Garcia to threaten Errol Spence Jr. 

James is a world-class trainer and has trained with boxers like Spence and Anthony Joshua. However, he split with Spence after his devastating loss against Terence Crawford in July 2023. They had been working together since 2012, and the split happened because of a pay dispute. This has now led to a legal tussle between James and Spence. Garcia reacted to this by stating: 

Yeah, Spence got beef with my coach. What's good? Come see me. You wanna sue him? I wanna beat you up.
Ryan Garcia via X

The trainer has claimed that Spence failed to honor their agreement after the Crawford fight. KingRy had also once addressed this and called out Spence for not paying his trainer. Furthermore, the disagreement emerged because James was supposed to receive 10% of Spence’s earnings from the Crawford fight.

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Reports state that Spence received $25 million from his fighter’s purse and PPV bonus from the Crawford fight. However, James received $350k from the fight. James is now asking to be paid as per his client’s total revenue and is seeking no less than $5 million. 

Errol Spence filed a countersuit 

James initiated the lawsuit by claiming his client did not pay him the agreed sum. Since Spence earned $25 million, James was supposed to receive $2.5 million. However, James only received $350k which prompted him to sue Spence in a $5 million lawsuit. 

Erroll Spence Jr. Derrick James and Ryan Garcia
Errol Spence Jr. (image credit- MMA weekly)

James’s suit was filed under ‘Breach of Contract, Fraud, and Misrepresentation’ at the Texas County Court. In response, Errol Spence Jr. filed a countersuit and wishes to receive ‘declaratory relief’. It was also reported that Spence filed the countersuit on the same day he was sued. 

Both their legal teams have admitted that the payment of $350k was 10% of $2.5 million with a $100k bonus. However, Derrick James‘s legal team has been claiming that it should have been based on the total revenue that Spence received. Subsequently, Spence’s legal team has not agreed to this notion, and their legal battle continues for now. 

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