Champ puts substance before flash
IT’S too bad it takes a good measure of bravado and blather to be noticed in the sports world, even when you’re someone as talented as Errol Spence Jr.
The IBF welterweight champion defends his title Saturday night at Barclays Center against former champion Lamont Peterson. Showtime will televise. The card also features Robert Easter Jr., the IBF lightweight champ, against Javier Fortuna, as well as light heavyweight Marcus Browne and heavyweight Adam Kownacki in separate bouts.
Spence is the star attraction, even though he’s not a household name yet. Unbeaten in 22 fights with 19 knockouts, Spence gets to make the year’s first statement in a welterweight division in which WBC champion Keith Thurman and WBO champion Jeff Horn are looking to establish their supremacy.
“It’s definitely important not just to win the fight, but how I win the fight,” Spence said after weighing in Friday at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. “I came to dominate the division, and I came here to look good. I’m the future of the division, and I’m the future of boxing.”
Let’s hope Spence is more active than he was in 2017, when he fought just once. That was when he traveled to England to capture his title with an 11th-round knockout of Kell Brook last May. Brook took a knee in the 10th round after enduring a barrage of punches from Spence, who kept a determined pace throughout the fight. Brook’s surgically repaired left eye started to show more damage in the 11th, and the fight was stopped when Brook took another knee.
“Everyone knows my style,” Spence said. “The outcome usually is a stoppage. I won’t be looking for it, but if it presents itself, I’ll be ready to take advantage.”
Peterson, a former superlightweight champ from Washington, D.C., is a rugged fighter, looking to keep his name in the welterweight mix.
“I’m excited and looking forward to the skill level that’s going to be displayed this weekend,” Peterson (353-1, 17 KOs) said. “It’s going to be a rough fight for sure. But I look forward to the technique and skill level, the defense, offense and transitioning between the two. That’s the part of boxing that I love.”
Easter was supposed to be defending his title against Fortuna, but Fortuna failed to make the 135-pound weight limit. Fortuna was 136.4 pounds after a twohour allowance. The belt will become vacant should Fortuna win the bout.
“I know what I came to do,” Easter said. “I’m a world champion, and everyone knows what I bring to the fight game. I won’t leave without my strap.”
If Spence were the obnoxious type, he might be getting more attention. He’d rather let his fists do the talking.
“A lot of people thought this would be an easy fight for me,” the 28-year-old Texan said. “But if you follow Lamont Peterson, you know this will be tough. ... There might not be a lot of talking and bad blood between us. But you know that the two of us always give a great fight for the fans.”
Peterson, 33, has been in the ring with notable names such as Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, Kendall Holt, Amir Khan and Victor Ortiz. This could be one of his final high-profile matchups.
“When you get to the big stages and those big fights, you have to win more than you lose,” Peterson said. “I think if I can win some big fights these next few years, my career will be in a good place.”