(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment) By Dan Ambrose: Undefeated #2 IBF Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) made easy work of former WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri (21-3, 8 KOs) in stopping him in the 5th round on Saturday night in an IBF 147lb title eliminator at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Spence knocked Algieri down three times in the fight in dropping him once in the 4th and twice in the 5th. The fight was halted after the second knockdown. In the final knockdown, Algieri backed up against the ropes and was nailed by a hard left hook to the head that put him down. In the first knockdown of the 5th, Algieri charged forward and ran into a big left hand that knocked him down with a shot that sent him skidding on his backside. Algieri admitted afterwards that he had suffered an ankle injury on the first knockdown in the 5th round. He wasn’t strong on his feet after getting knocked down.
Spence was just too powerful for Algieri tonight in making a statement with his 5th round stoppage on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC.
“He kept ducking and looking down at the floor instead of looking up,” said Spence about Algieri. “I thought it was going to be late. Algieri is a tough fighter. He tested me a little bit, but I was prepared for what he had.”
When asked who he wants to fight next, Spence said “I’m the number one mandatory for Kell Brook. Kell knows what time it is.”
Spence landed 96 of 311 punches for a connect percentage of 31. Algieri landed just 36 of 114 punches for a connect percentage of 32. The punch stats showed how much of a massacre it was, as Spence was attacking the weak looking Algieri from the 1st round, showing him no respect whatsoever.
The victory for the 26-year-old Spence makes him the mandatory challenger for IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook. A fight between them will likely take place in 2017 if Brook doesn’t vacate the title. Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn is already saying that Brook might vacate his IBF title after his next two fights. Brook has exactly two voluntary defenses that he’s eligible to take before he’ll be required to face Spence, but it doesn’t look like Brook will take that fight. Hearn says Brook might move up to 154. There’s really not many big names for Brook to fight at junior middleweight, but if he moves up there, he can duck the Spence fight and then pick and choose which welterweights he wants to drag up in weight to 150 for a catch-weight fight. Brook could even move in between the two divisions back and forth without having to be hampered by facing someone that might knock him out like Spence.
“He’s a hungry young lion,” said Algieri about Spence. “He brought some great stuff. He stayed composed and caught me in between styles. I don’t want to take anything away from him, but I kind of tweaked my ankle,” said Algieri.
Spence looks like the real deal. He’s the one that the boxing world is talking about as the replacement for Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the sport’s new star. Even Mayweather sees great things from Spence, and he’s hoping to sign him to his Mayweather Promotions company.