Errol Spence didn’t look like hype. Now we know he isn’t.
The top prospect in the world in any division stepped up big-time in competition to face Chris Algieri (above right), and handled him like a bulldog on a Beanie Baby. Algieri lasted the distance against Manny Pacquiao, gave Amir Khan all he could handle and beat Ruslan Provodnikov. Against Spence, he was helpless.
The Spence offense was relentless. He wouldn’t let Algieri breath, throwing power punches in massive volume. Algieri either couldn’t or wouldn’t get his punches off, so Spence (above left) had every reason to keep charging forward. In the 4th, finally, Spence connected on a vicious left hook that dropped Algieri, and he rose with an ugly bruise under his right eye.
It didn’t take much longer after that, with Spence driving home another big left in the 5th that dropped Algieri and left him with an ankle injury. The next left that finished off Algieri had Algieri looking like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.”
Spence is now more than a welterweight prospect: He’s a real contender. The kid is the complete package, and it might get hard to find people to fight him unless someone opens up an old-school pirate treasure chest. He’s next in line to face Kell Brook via alphabet belt politics. If the fight happens, it’s a tremendous meeting of swift, powerful fighters that inspires Tex Avery wolf responses.
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