Mayweather: Errol Spence Jr. is going to make the most noise in boxing

By Boxing News - 02/12/2016 - Comments

spence5By Tim Fletcher: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is really high on undefeated welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. (19-0, 16 KOs), and he sees the 26-year-old fighter making the most impact in the welterweight division now that he’s retired from the sport.

Mayweather says he’s going to be signing the young Spence, and he thinks he’s going to be a star.

“The guy in boxing that’s going to make a lot of noise real, real soon is Errol Spence,” Mayweather said. “He’s going to make a lot of noise. He’s a welterweight, and I tell every welterweight this. We keep talking about these different guys at 154 and 147; Errol Spence is the guy that’s going to make a lot of noise. He’s going to sign with Mayweather Promotions soon. So he’ll have it all. I’ll be talking for him. I’ll be the voice for him. If he goes out there and continues what he’s doing, then I’ll be the voice for him. I’m not going to lie. There’s a lot of good welterweights out there, but the guy who I think is going to make the most noise in boxing is Errol Spence,” said Mayweather.

That would be a big addition to Mayweather’s promotional company if he can sign Spence, because this guy looks to be the fighter that will be taking over the 147lb division. With a talented fighter like Spence, Mayweather could have a guy that can be the top fighter in the division for many years.

Spence and former WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri (21-2, 8 KOs) could be facing each other in April, according to Dan Rafael. The fight is being talked about for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

This would likely be an IBF 147lb eliminator bout to determine the mandatory for IBF champion Kell Brook. The unbeaten Spence is ranked #2 IBF, #6 WBC, #10 WBA, #13 WBO, and only needs a win in a final IBF eliminator to become Brook’s mandatory. Spence recently defeated Alejandro Barrera by a 5th round knockout last November in a fight for the #2 IBF eliminator. Before that, Spence defeated Chris Van Heerden by an 8th round knockout.

“Spence likely will fight sometimes in April. One fight being discussed is Chris Algieri on a card at the Baclays Center,” Rafael said during his chat on Friday on ESPN.com.

The 31-year-old Algieri’s once promising career has turned sour after losing to Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan in back to back fights in 2014 and 2015. #5 WBO Algieri rebounded from those defeats to beat unranked Erick Bone by a 10 round decision last December in a harder than expected win.

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Spence Jr. has the talent to make big things happen in the welterweight division. Some boxing fans believe he is the natural successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in terms of talent. Spence, 26, does not have Mayweather’s speaking ability and some would say he does not have his charisma either, but Spence Jr. does have the talent to take over for Mayweather.

Spence Jr. just needs to be able to get a title shot against the likes of Kell Brook to show how good he is. WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman was not interested in facing Spence last year when Mayweather challenged him to face Spence for one of his welterweight titles.

Thurman said that Spence had not done enough to deserve a fight with him at the time. It looks like that will not change until Spence captures the IBF title. They both have the same manager in Al Haymon, so it would ultimately be up to him if he wanted to make that fight.

It would be a huge show of courage if Algieri agrees to fight the hard-hitting Spence because he would have an uphill climb in dealing with his big punching power. Algieri would need to try to out-box Spence, and that might prove difficult to do. Spence has a great jab, and can fight well on the outside as well as the inside.

Algieri would need to figure out a way to deal with Spence’s punching power if he wanted to survive in a fight against him. It would be surprising if Algieri agrees to take the fight with Spence, because he is currently #5 by the World Boxing Organization at 147. Algieri could eventually get a crack at the winner of the Jessie Vargas vs. Sadam Ali fight at some point without having to take a dangerous fight against Spence.



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