Ashley Theophane says he always believed that Errol Spence Jr would become a world champion after sparring him in the Mayweather Gym in 2013.
Unified Welterweight champion, Spence Jr defends his WBC and IBF crowns against two-weight world champion, Danny Garcia in Texas tonight.
Former world title challenger, Theophane shared the ring with the unbeaten American, when Spence Jr helped prepare Floyd Mayweather Jr for his WBC Welterweight title fight with Robert Guerrero and whilst ‘Treasure’ was under the Mayweather Promotions banner.
The Brit admits ‘The Truth’ displayed the tools required to become a world champion, as a young novice, four years before he would eventually dethrone Kell Brook to become IBF champion in Sheffield in 2017.
“He sparred with Floyd for like two weeks straight,” Theophane told proboxing-fans.com.
“He went on to train for his own fight, because he fought [against Brandon Hoskins] the week of Floyd’s fight, I sparred him the last two times before he fought.
“Spence from that time I knew he was going to go on to be a world champ, because he was putting in great work with Floyd, then I got to spar him as well, I was like ‘oh shit this guy is strong.’
“So I’m not surprised at what Spence is doing now, because he was very, very good and I think he’ll go on to do more.
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“You’ve got the fights with Canelo, you’ve got the fights with Terence [Crawford], so I think he can still do so much more in his career.”
Spence Jr fights for the first time since beating Shawn Porter to claim the WBC belt in a thrilling showdown last September and since his near-fatal car accident last October.
Theophane, who faces Sam Eggington on December 11 live on Channel 5, in what will be his first fight in the UK in over eight years, believes it will be a tougher fight against Garcia than it would have been prior to his accident.
“I think he wins, but it all depends how he is coming off his accident,” the 40-year-old added.
“I think it might be a harder fighter now than it was once before, but I think he still wins.
🤝 EGGINGTON-THEOPHANE SET FOR DEC 11 🇬🇧
🥊 @eggington_sam will face former world title challenger @AshleyTheophane in an intriguing domestic clash on December 11, live on @Channel5Sport, @HennessySports have confirmed! 💥
🤔 Who wins❓#Boxing #EggingtonTheophane pic.twitter.com/xUSTzCBqzp
— Pro Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) November 15, 2020
“It’s a good fight, but I think he’s better than Danny, so I do think he will win.”
Watch the full interview with Ashley below where he also talks about sparring Lightweight world champions, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez, breaks down his clash with Eggington, Daniel Dubois’ loss to Joe Joyce and his plans post-boxing.
