Errol Spence will be tougher fight than Thurman, says Bundu

By Boxing News - 06/19/2016 - Comments

Image: Errol Spence will be tougher fight than Thurman, says Bundu

By Dan Ambrose: #7 IBF Leonard Bundu (33-1-2, 12 KOs) is expected to be the opponent for unbeaten #2 IBF Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) on August 21 in their IBF welterweight eliminator bout on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC at a venue still to be determined. The Spence vs. Bundu fight hasn’t been officially announced as of yet, but it’s expected to in the near future.

The winner of the Spence-Bundu fight will be the mandatory challenger to IBF 147lb champion Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs). Bundu, 41, sees the Spence fight as a tougher one than the one he experienced against Keith “One Time” Thurman two years ago, when the two of them fought in December 2014.

Thurman won the fight by a 12 round decision, but he was moving frequently and trying not to get hit rather than attacking the way Spence will be doing. Bundu expects Spence to come after him and fight in a much more aggressive manner than Thurman. Spence and Thurman are totally different fighters.

Spence is a 2012 Olympic with great experience and a fearless attitude to go along with his crushing power. Thurman doesn’t have the Olympic experience, and he hates to get hit, and he’ll do anything not to get hit. Thurman doesn’t seem to take shots as good as Spence, so that might explain why he doesn’t attack the way he does.

“Thurman was rather nice, this is it more. I was struck by the way that has engulfed Algieri,” said Bundu to dartortorromeo.com. “But now I have more experience with regard to the high-level challenges. The first time I went with some doubt and that slowed me down. Certainly he will not do as Thurman. He likes to attack. It will be more dangerous, but will also be a small advantage for me that I prefer to box at close range.”

It might not be much of an advantage that Bundu likes to fight on the inside, because that’s where Spence prefers to fight. If Bundu is going to try and match Spence punch for punch on the inside, he could wind up caving in quickly under the heavy bombardment from the bigger and stronger Spence. Former WBO light welterweight champion Chris Algieri was stopped by Spence in five rounds last April. The 5’10” Algieri couldn’t handle Spence’s power despite the fact that he came into the fight looking big. The extra size didn’t save Algieri from taking a beating from Spence.

The 5’6 ½” Bundu will be giving away three inches in height and four inches in reach to the 5’9 ½” Spence. Bundu is also 15 years older than the 26-year-old Spence, and that’s probably not a good thing. Being in your 40s, short and not a big puncher is definitely not a positive for Bundu. He’s over-matched in every way you can think of for this fight. Spence is taller than the 5’7” Thurman by 2 ½” inches, and he’s a much bigger threat for Bundu than what he faced when he fought “One Time” in 2014.

Bundu recently won the vacant EBU welterweight title last April in beating Finnish fighter Jussi Koivula (21-3-1, 8 KOs) by a 9th round knockout in Florence, Italy. It was a good victory for Bundu, but it was a victory of over an opponent that wasn’t even remotely as good as Spence Jr. Koivula is not in the same class as Spence, so the victory isn’t likely going to help Bundu deal with the much tougher fight in front of him on August 21.

Bundu beat 37-year-old journeyman Pablo Munguia (21-11, 12 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision last year in June 2015 in Shelton, Washington. Munguia came into the fight having lost four out of his last nine bouts. Munguia has lost all three of his fights since the Bundu bout.

“It’s a great opportunity. At my age you cannot say no; you have no other possibility. At Twenty years, you can also think: wait and see what the future brings. At 41, I take the risks,” said Bundu.

Bundu thinks his body punching could give Spence problems in this fight. Bundu said, “My left uppercut to the liver, by the middle or short distance, might be the punch capable of blowing him out of his seat.”

It would be a big shock if Bundu does pull off an upset and stop Spence. It would be like last Saturday’s upset win by light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. over Andrzej Fonfara. A victory for Bundu would be an even bigger victory than Smith Jr’s, because Spence is seen by many people in the boxing industry as the next welterweight star and the guy to take the place of Floyd Mayweather Jr. For Spence to lose to a 41-year-old guy with no power to speak of and not much size as well, it would be a huge shock. However, it’s very unlikely to happen.

Bundu would likely have his hands full trying to beat Algieri, let alone beat a guy like Spence.

Bundu needs to be ready for a war the moment the fight starts because I have a feeling that Spence isn’t going to take it slow with him. He’s very likely going to go after Bundu from the very start of the fight and look to take him out as fast as possible. Bundu doesn’t shy away from contact, so he’ll likely be right there in front of Spence as a sitting duck. That could hasten the end of Bundu.

Bundu has previous wins over British fighters Frankie Gavin and Lee Purdy in 2013 and 2014. Bundu also has victories over Rafael Jackiewicz and Ismael El Massoudi. Bundu has beaten some decent fighters during his career. He failed in his toughest fight against Thurman in losing a 12 round unanimous decision by the lopsided scores of 120-107, 120-107 and 120-107. Thurman knocked Bundu down in round one, but then he spent the next 11 rounds moving to avoid getting hit by him. It was a really dull fight with the boxing booing from early on.

This should be a good fight if Bundu doesn’t run from Spence. The two of them can fight in a toe-to-toe battle for as long as the fight goes. If Bundu is a great body puncher, then maybe he can win. I don’t think he will, but he’ll have a puncher’s chance at least.