Bundu expects to beat Spence

By Boxing News - 08/18/2016 - Comments

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By Allan Fox: Leonard Bundu (33-1-2, 12 KOs) is the underdog in this Sunday’s match-up against unbeaten welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) on August 21, but the 41-year-old Bundu feels he’s going to be the one getting the victory in what would be a huge upset of major proportions.

Spence and Bundu will be fighting at the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. The fight will be shown on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC. The 5’6 ½” Bundu has a lot of things to try and overcome in this fight starting with the size advantage that the 5’9 ½” Spence has going for him in this fight.

(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment/Premier Boxing Champions)

Spence is taller, more powerful, and younger and the guy seen as having the better overall talent. Bundu is just a blue collar who will be giving it his best shot not to turn into Spence’s eighth consecutive knockout victim.

“Spence Jr. is a good boxer. He’s probably my toughest fight to date,” said Bundu. “These kinds of fights make me more motivated. I believe I can be victorious. I see his weaknesses and I have to take advantage of them. I believe I can put him in trouble with my countering but it all has to come together in the ring.”

Bundu had a tough fight two years ago against Keith Thurman, which he lost by a one-sided 12 round decision in 2014. While the scores of the fight were quite lopsided in Thurman’s favor, the fight looked to be more competitive than what the judges’ scores would have you believe. Bundu showed in that fight that he could force Thurman onto his back foot to make him fight defensively rather than the way he normally does. Bundu was successful in making Thurman fight defensively for 12 rounds. He still won the fight, but he took some shots in the process.

“I have nothing to lose. I’m going to give it all I have and I’m very confident in myself. I love the challenge. I want to give him his first loss,” said Bundu. “That’s what I have to do. That’s all that is in my head.”

Bundu has to give it everything he’s got in this fight, because if he loses, he’s going to see his No.6 ranking with the International Boxing Federation go out the window. At 41, trying to get back up to where he’s at right now in the top 15 may prove to be difficult, because it would take considerable time, and it would likely involve Bundu beating the right opponents. He won’t get pushed back up the rankings with him fighting lower level opposition.
The winner of the Spence vs. Bundu fight will be the new IBF welterweight mandatory challenger to champion Kell Brook.

There’s a chance that the winner of Sunday’s fight could wind up as the IBF champion without even fighting Brook if he decides not to come back down to welterweight after his fight against middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin on September 10. That’s why the Spence-Bundu is such an important fight, because it could determine the next IBF 147lb champion if Brook can’t make it back down to welterweight for whatever reason.