By Allan Fox: #2 IBF Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) made a news announcement tonight in saying he’ll be fighting next on August 21st in an IBF welterweight title eliminator on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC. Spence, 26, didn’t reveal who his opponent will be for that fight.
It was mentioned recently that the International Boxing Federation will be ordering Spence to face #7 IBF Leonard Bundu. However, it’s unclear whether that fight will take place. It would be a dangerous fight for the 41-year-old Bundu, and who knows whether he would be up for a match-up like that against a guy with 26-year-old Spence’s punching power and youth.
“I’m fighting on August 21st on NBC,” said Spence tonight on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC. “It’s in the works now. It’s a title eliminator for the IBF. Hopefully, I get a fight against Kell Brook for his title down the road. I started training a couple of weeks ago to stay sharp and get my weight down,” said Spence.
When asked about his thoughts on the June 25 fight between WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and Shawn Porter, Spence said, “I’ll fight either one. I like Shawn Porter more. I want Shawn to win.
Spence wants to fight the winner of the Thurman-Porter fight. That’s unlikely to happen if Thurman wins, because he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to fight Spence. If he stays in a separate line from him by going after IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook with the IBF eliminator, then we might not see Spence and Thurman face each other for a long time, if at all.
It would be a tough fight for Thurman because Spence cuts off the ring really well, and has major punching power to the body. Thurman would need to run around the ring all night long in his “circle fighter” style, as he calls it. I don’t know if his circle fighting would save him from Spence.
I'm back Aug 21 on NBC. #worldtitlechase continues 🙌🏾 #MANDOWN #MrNBC https://t.co/Ri59dt8Axj
— Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) June 19, 2016
If Spence wins his next fight in the IBF eliminator, he’ll be the mandatory for IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook. That’s a fight that might not happen too, because Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn says Brook may move up in weight to the junior middleweight division after two more fights. Those two fights will be against WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas and possibly WBC champion Danny Garcia if Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn can make a big enough offer to get Garcia to take the fight. Hearn and Brook hasn’t shown any in interest in fighting Thurman.
Spence is seen as the future star of the welterweight division. It was interesting to listen to Spence interact with Premier Boxing Champions commentator BJ Flores tonight. Spence came across as so humble. For a fighter that could be the next Floyd Mayweather Jr, Spence was polite and not talking down to Flores. For a guy that could someday be a mega-rich athlete, Spence carried himself in a very humble manner. If Spence does become the next star in the sport, he’s going to make a ton of money before he finishes up his career. Hopefully, Spence is willing to take on all the top dogs and doesn’t let the big fights marinate for six years like Mayweather did with the Manny Pacquiao bout.
For Spence to become the next Mayweather, he’ll need to beat Brook, Thurman, Garcia, and Porter. If Spence can beat all those guys, he’ll be crowned the new star of the 147lb division. Thurman won’t need to beat Tim Bradley and Jessie Vargas to be seen as the top guy at 147, because those guys don’t have the punching power to compete against a brutal puncher like Spence.