On most occasions, Derrick James is the cool guy in the room. He sits back, barely says a single word, and doesn’t go out seeking the spotlight. Even when confronted, the 2022 Trainer of the Year doesn’t sweat it. For much of the build-up between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., James remained in character. However, during one particular press conference, James found himself screaming at the top of his lungs in a heated debate with opposing coach, Brian “Bomac” McIntyre. (photo by Ryan Hafey)

On paper, Spence vs. Crawford was as 50/50 a showdown as you could get. To a large extent, it was up to their respective training staff to push their fighter over the winning edge.

For as much as Bomac has accomplished, there was a consensus that James was simply the better trainer. Bomac kept his cool and zipped his lips. So too did Crawford. Although the 35-year-old didn’t have much to say, he paid close attention to those who were doubting his longtime coach.

Now, after dissecting Spence for nine one-sided rounds, Crawford is circling back.

“Derrick James, he did a lot of disrespect to my coach,” said Crawford on an episode of The 3 Knockdown Rule. “The media was disrespecting my coach. The fans, they were disrespecting my coach. But he showed high-level coaching the night of the fight. I don’t think Derrick James was on his level.”

More times than not, James has found a way to both motivate and formulate a game plan to place his fighters in the best position possible. This time around, nothing he said worked.

Of course, during the actual fight, neither Crawford nor Spence, or any fighter in that situation, is allowed to hear the instructions given by the opposing corner in real-time. Crawford though, popped in the tape after the fact, to watch some of his violent handiwork. In doing so, he also caught wind of the advice James was handing to Spence. All in all, James’ instructions, according to Crawford, was incredibly weak.

“I believe they didn’t have a backup plan. Him telling his fighter to step around, and that’s all he was telling him - that was bad coaching for that night.”

Whether James instructed Spence to “step around” or not, the sort of zone Crawford was in made it practically impossible for the former unified champ to get anything done. But having watched his former star get completely outclassed, James will have to live with the result, at least until the two meet up again.

From an overall perspective, Crawford won’t use July 29th as a singular tool to judge James. Overall, the names in his stable, including Jermell Charlo, Anthony Joshua, Frank Martin, and of course - Spence, have all grabbed big-time wins with James leading the way. But while Crawford admits that James can coach with the best of them, on that particular night, he was taken to school.

“Not to say that Derrick James is a bad coach at all, because I wouldn’t disrespect him by saying that. He’s a great coach. He’s done great things in the sport of boxing but that night, he got out-coached.”