Errol Spence Jr. has told Frank Martin that he will need to force his way to a lightweight title challenge, mirroring his own path to glory.
Spence is the IBF, WBA and WBC welterweight champion and is on the cusp of becoming the undisputed at 147lbs. But to do that he will have to defeat Terence Crawford, who holds the WBO strap, and is regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in action today.
The winner will likely be regarded as the P4P best to settle any dispute, and Spence believes that the lightweight fighter that he promotes, Martin, will need to similarly fight his way to title shots rather than expect a clear path.
Martin most recently fought Marinez at the Alamadome, winning by technical knockout, and Spence has advice ahead of the next bout.
“Most likely, he’s probably gonna have to be a mandatory to get a title fight,” ehe told BoxingScene.com.
“It’s gonna be hard, but you’ve gotta get yourself in position to be the mandatory, like what I did. He gotta beat not the opponents at the top, but the opponents just below the top contenders, beat those guys and beat ‘em in impressive fashion, where there’s a demand for him to fight the guys who won the world titles and stuff like that, the guys with the big names. It’s gonna be difficult, but it’s, you know, something that’s been done numerous times. I’ve done it and other different fighters done it, so it’s something that can definitely be done.”
“I thought he looked good,” said Spence of the performance against Marinez.
“He started out a little bit slow, but I feel like he was calculating and making sure his shots was just on point. He could’ve been a little bit more active, but he was just making sure, you know, everything was precise and right. That’s what him and Derrick have been working on in the gym. I feel like he was breaking him down.
“And once he broke him down, he got him tired, the punches were affecting him a lot more and he was able to get the stoppage. So, I think he looked good. He looked real sharp, but like he said, there’s always room for improvement. So, he’s definitely gotta get back in the gym and improve on different things.”