Errol Spence Jr: Time to make a statement against Algieri

By Boxing News - 03/01/2016 - Comments

spence4By Jeff Aranow: Undefeated #2 IBF Errol Spence Jr. (19-0, 16 KOs) plans on making a statement next month in his fight on April 16 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Spence be fighting on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC. His opponent is former WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri (21-2, 8 KOs).

This is a fight that will show to the world whether Spence has the talent to champion and the next guy to lead the sport. A lot of fans believe that Spence is the next guy that will take over the 147lb division. It’s hard to say whether he has that kind of talent or not.

In Spence’s last fight against Alejandro Barrera last November, there were moments where Spence took some major shots. Spence’s defense did not look so great, and his hand speed was lacking. In Spence’s previous fights, he had looked vulnerable at times and not particularly fast or clever defensively. The Barrera fight really showed that Spence could have some problems when he gets to the next level.

Algieri, 31, isn’t a big puncher, and it’s quite possible that Spence will be able to walk through his shots without being slowed down. I don’t know if Algieri will be enough of a test to tell us anything about Spence. It’s probably going to take IBF champion Kell Brook to show us whether Spence has the kind of talent to take over the division. If Spence can beat Brook with ease, then there’s a good chance he’ll be able to do the same against Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Tim Bradley and Danny Garcia, because those guys are pretty close to the same talent level as Brook.

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“This is a huge opportunity for me, to be this young and early in my career and headlining a prime-time event, just the exposure alone,” said Spence to premierboxingchampions.com. “Chris Algieri has been in the ring with Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov, and he’s a former world champ.”

Beating Algieri by a knockout will show the boxing world that Spence is at least a level above Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, both of which had to go the full 12 round distance to beat him.

Algieri has a good chin, and he’s skillful defensively. He’s got some talent. It’ll be pretty impressive if Spence can run through Algieri like he’s butter. No one has done that with Algieri as of yet. Pacquiao put Algieri down six times in their fight in 2014, but those were all knockdowns that didn’t hurt him. Algieri was just dropped by shots that he didn’t see coming. Some of them were balance shots. If Spence can stun Algieri and knock him out in the traditional sense, then it will show the sport that he’s a new force to be reckoned with.

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“Camp already been strong. This being official only makes me hungrier. #world title chase is back on #PBC on NBC April 16. Appreciate the support,” Spence said on his Twitter. “Gonna make the most of the opportunity… Time to make a statement in the 147 div‼️#PBConNBC #SpenceAlgieri #MANDOWN.”

Spence needs a win in this fight to get himself a mandatory shot at IBF champion Kell Brook’s title. If Spence loses here, he’ll need to hit the reset button on his career and start over. He’s got to be able to beat a fighter like Algieri because he’s more of a trial horse than anything. Algieri is able to beat the more limited guys, but he falls apart when he steps it up against A-level fighters.

Algieri is coming off of a 10 round decision win over Erick Bone last December. That was a fight that was a lot harder than it should have been for Algieri. However, he’s right in the middle of a style change up, so it’s not surprising that he had to battle so hard to win the fight. Algieri has bulked up in moving from the 140 to 147lb division, and tries to slug more. He lost to Amir Khan with his new style, but came close to beating him. If Algieri decides to slug with Spence, it could be an early night for Algieri. I think Algieri will have a plan-B to fall back on if he’s not able to slug with Spence.



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