By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten #2 IBF welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) believes he’ll soon be facing the big names in the welterweight division. He says the guys don’t want to fight him right now after seeing him perform, but they’ll have to fight him sooner or later.
Spence, 26, will be fighting in an IBF 147lb eliminator bout in the near future. If Spence wins that fight, he’ll be locked in as the mandatory challenger to IBF welterweight champion Kell “Special K” Brook.
Even if Brook chooses to vacate his IBF title, Spence will then pick up the vacated title. It’s obviously not the route that the talented 26-year-old Spence is looking to go in, but with the way that Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn is talking, we might soon see that scenario taking place with Brook giving up the IBF belt after Spence becomes the IBF mandatory.
“Sooner or later I’m going to get those big name guys in the ring. It’s going to happen,” said Spence to Fighthype. “I’m fighting for the mandatory spot, fighting for the IBF. Everything is good. Stay tuned. The fight date will be announced soon. We’re going to find an opponent. It’s time to get back in the gym and get the weight down and find an opponent. It doesn’t frustrate me at all. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. People see me in the ring and don’t want to fight me,” said Spence.
The fighter that Spence is supposed to be facing in the IBF 147lb eliminator bout is #3 IBF Konstantin Ponomarev. However, it’s unclear if Ponomarev is going to take that fight. It was originally thought the 23-year-old Russian fighter would, but now it’s up in the air whether he will or not.
If Ponomarev – or his promoters at Top Rank – choose not to make the fight with Spence, then the next available highest ranked IBF contender will be asked if they want to take the fight. In that case, Spence could be facing one of these fighters:
4. Jeff Horn
5. Lamont Peterson
6. Dmitrii Mikhailenko
7. Samuel Vasquez
8. Omar Figueroa
9. Bradley Skeete
10. Rico Muller
It’s difficult to imagine all of those fighters turning down a fight against Spence for whatever reason. If they do, then Spence and his promoters will keep moving down the International Boxing Federation’s top15 rankings until they find someone that is willing to face him.
A fight between Spence and Brook will be a good match-up. It’ll be a fight matching the future star of the welterweight division in Spence against a fighter that has seen his 12-year pro career moved at a glacial pace. I think we’ll see in that fight that the future of the sport will have too much for Brook to handle. I just hope the fight comes to fruition because it would be a real pity if Brook vacates his IBF title and moves up to 154 right at the time that he’s got his first live body as a contender in Spence. That would be a real pity if Brook gives up his IBF title.