Welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. is on the doorstep of a world title shot.
Spence, the 2015 ESPN.com prospect of the year, will meet Leonard Bundu in a world title elimination fight on Sunday in the first boxing event at the new Ford Amphitheater at the Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York — and he does not just want a victory.
Spence wants to impress the national television audience that will be watching the Premier Boxing Champions match, which airs on NBC at about 5 p.m. ET — immediately after the men’s basketball Olympic gold-medal game. Other bouts from the card will air on tape delay beginning at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
“I just look for another spectacular fight, another spectacular one-sided performance,” Spence said. This seems like a familiar refrain, as most of Spence’s fights so far have been one-sided. Turning pro after reaching the quarterfinals for Team USA in the 2012 Olympics, Spence was regarded by most as the fighter with the best professional potential from the team. So far, he is realizing it.
In his last fight, on April 16 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn,New York, Spence destroyed former junior welterweight titlist Chris Algieri on NBC in prime time. He knocked Algieri down three times and stopped him in the fifth round of an overwhelming performance, even more impressive than Manny Pacquiao’s decision win against Algieri in a 2014 world title bout.
“I’ve promoted a lot of fighters throughout the years, and there wasn’t a better fighter from the last Olympic class or this one that is better than Errol Spence Jr.,” promoter Lou DiBella said. “In terms of ability, talent and instincts, he’s world-class. He fights with much more intelligence than his ring age. He’s a master of controlling the ring. When I watch this kid fight I’m always blown away.
“On Sunday, Spence Jr. is fighting a real professional and he has a chance to prove something on national television. This is a great forum for him to follow the Olympic gold-medal basketball game. The kind of audience that is going to watch the gold-medal game [is] the kind of people that we need to bring into boxing.”
Spence (20-0, 17 KOs), a 26-year-old southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, would like to match his April showing against the 41-year-old Bundu (33-1-2, 12 KOs), a 2000 Olympian from Italy and the reigning European champion.
“Of course I would want the knockout, but with me, I just look for, you know, a spectacular performance,” said Spence, who was born in the New York area and will have plenty of family and friends cheering him on. “It’s like walk them down or go for the knockout. You know, hopefully I get the knockout. If it comes, I’m definitely going to take it. But if I have to box, then I’ll box, too, but hopefully I have another performance like I did with Chris Algieri.
“I’m a rising star, and I want to look spectacular against him and get a knockout, but main goal is to win. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The winner of the bout will earn a mandatory title shot at the 147-pound belt held by England’s Kell Brook, though when the winner fights for the title, Brook is unlikely to still hold it as he is moving up to middleweight for a shot at unified titleholder Gennady Golovkin on Sept. 10; win or lose, he will likely never see 147 pounds again.
Whether Spence fights Brook for the title or somebody else for the vacant belt is not his concern. He just wants the win over Bundu. Then comes the title opportunity.
“Bundu is a very good fighter. He’s experienced and technically sound, but he can be awkward,” said Spence, who hopes to become the second member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team to win a world title after Rau’shee Warren won a bantamweight belt on June 18. “We went [down] the rankings trying to find an opponent. A lot of guys didn’t want to fight me, even in a title eliminator. So I want to thank Bundu for taking the fight.
“I’m not worried about what’s going to happen next. I know what’s next if I take care of my business. If I win I’m guaranteed a chance at the world title. I want the title fight sooner rather than later.”
Spence is a huge favorite against Bundu, who has won two fights in a row against low-level opponents since suffering his first defeat, a shutout decision in which he got knocked down by Keith Thurman in an interim world title bout in December 2014 in Las Vegas.
Bundu is aware that he is a big underdog against Spence, but he said he is not at all intimidated.
“Spence Jr. is a good boxer. He’s probably my toughest fight to date,” Bundu said. “These kinds of fights make me more motivated. I have nothing to lose. I’m going to give it all I have, and I’m very confident in myself. I believe I can be victorious.
“Spence Jr. and Thurman have some similarities but also are completely different fighters. I have studied Spence and I believe I will have an even better chance against [him]. I thought my performance was OK against Thurman. There was definitely room to improve and I think I’m an even better fighter now than I was then. I feel like I was 10 years ago. I’m like wine. I’m truly getting better with age.”
Said DiBella: “There’s no question Errol is the favorite while Bundu is the underdog, but he’s been the underdog before. He knows he has to win and that this could be his last chance on a big stage.”
For Spence, it is likely just the start of what could be many years on the big stage.
“I don’t have an eye on the future,” he said. “I think winning this fight, my future is already set in stone, so I’m locked into this fight. Once I get an opponent, I’m locked into him. I’m locked into Bundu. This is the title eliminator.
“So I’m not worried about the future because I know what comes after this is the world title fight. I [will] win but I don’t know how I’m going to win, but I’m going to win and I’m going to look spectacular doing it.”
