Spence’s trainer expects Bundu to be tough

By Boxing News - 08/08/2016 - Comments

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By Jim Dower: Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) will be back inside the ring in less than two weeks to fight an important match against Leonard Bundu (33-1, 12 KOs) in an IBF welterweight title eliminator bout at the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island, New York.

Spence is the favorite in the fight based on his size, youth, power and his overall talent. However, Spence’s trainer Derrick James expects the fight to be a tough one. Bundu, 41, gave Keith “One Time” Thurman all he could handle two years ago in their fight in 2014. Thurman was reduced to moving around the ring in wide circles after getting hit by some hard shots from Bundu in the early rounds.

Thurman had the power to potentially KO Bundu, but it would have meant putting his chin on the line in the fight to make that happen and Thurman wasn’t willing to do that. He played it safe and got the 12 round decision win in a fight that was booed from the 5th round until the 12th.

“We are looking for a very tough fight. We have to be smart and our timing has to be great. You have to always be on point at this level anyway,” said Spence’s trainer Derrick James to Fighthype.com. “He fought Keith Thurman and he went 12 rounds against Keith Thurman and did well, so it’s up to us to come out there and do better than that,” said James.

It won’t be hard for Spence to outdo the performance that Thurman put in against Bundu, because Thurman fought scared. He did not show much in the way of courage against Bundu after getting hit hard in round three. Surprisingly, it was Bundu who was pressing the attack on Thurman for 12 rounds instead of it being the other way around. Thurman made a lame excuse after the fight about the sport of boxing being about the art of hitting and not being hit, but it rank hallow with the boxing fans because they obviously expected more of him.

Thurman was a knockout artist who had decided to play it safe against Bundu. Spence won’t do that because he’s trying to create a name for himself and he knows that the best way of doing that is for him to go on the attack for 12 rounds to try and get a knockout. Spence wants to become a star, and he can’t do that by fighting like Thurman and avoiding exchanges with Bundu.

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Spence will become the IBF mandatory for Kell Brook if he beats Bundu. James says they’re not focused on fighting anyone particular fighter. They’re more focused on going after the titles. If Brook decides to keep his IBF title after his fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, then he’ll be facing Spence by 2018 at the latest.

It doesn’t look like the International Boxing Federation will be stripping Brook if he loses to Golovkin. They’re going to let Brook hold onto his IBF title. However, it might be a little hard for him to melt down from the 180s to make weight at 147 for a fight against Spence. Even if Brook does make weight, he’s likely going to be too weak from making weight for him to be able to put up much of a fight.

“He’s a very smart fighter, former Olympian, and he’s a strong fighter,” said James about Bundu. I’ve watched his fights and he’s very strong and he’s smart in there. He’s a good boxer that moves well in the ring.”

The reason why boxing fans don’t believe Bundu much of a chance of winning his fight against Spence is because he’s undersized at 5’6”, and he’s fighting what could be the best fighter in the entire division. Some casual boxing fans aren’t familiar with Bundu, so they’re not giving him a chance due to them not being familiar with. However, the hardcore fans that do know of Bundu still aren’t giving him any chance of winning because they realize how much better Spence is than him.

Bundu is a good fighter and can probably beat guys like Amir Khan and Sammy Vasquez, but he’s fighting Errol Spence, the future of the 147lb division. The fans can’t see Bundu having the tools needed for him to trouble Spence. It’s not a question of whether Spence is going to win this fight. It’s by what method – a knockout or a wide decision. Any deviation from that would be a negative for Spence’s stock in the sport, because he’s expected to win easily over Bundu.