ALGIERI VS SPENCE JR.
Looming on the horizon we see several boxing matches that are sparking my interests. Golovkin, Ward, Bradley, and others, are all gearing up to make this year in boxing an exciting one. One such fight is Spence Jr. vs Algieri. This is being argued already by some boxing fans, as Algieri's chance at making a name for himself, and they are already claiming Algieri to be the clear winner based on experience. Algieri has a pretty decent resume of competition he's faced, including Paqiauo, Khan, and Provodnikov. However, Spence, who some boxing fans have claimed to be a ball of Haymon hype, aren't giving him a chance over the crafty veteran. The argument is that Spence has been fed, easy competition, and nobody's, in an effort to preserve his record for bigger fights later down the road. Some claim he's protected. What some are forgetting, is that Spence is Olympic pedigree, and very capable of becoming a big boxing star. He hasn't lost any fights in his professional career thus far, and some are claiming this is his first real test.
Spence is a great boxer, with good power, and has proven that he can put fighters down when he decides to. Algieri, although having a good resume, doesn't really have much to present in terms of a challenge against Spence. He lives behind the jab, which honestly acts as more of a defense mechanism, than a range finder or a way to set up combinations. I'm not saying that Algieri is a terrible fighter, he's good enough to survive. Against Pacquiao, Algieri was dropped, right before his trainer was about to let the "beast" out of his "cage". Against Provodnikov, Chris was able to survive and point his way to a win, but, not before being dropped. So, he's good at being safe, and surviving, but, I feel that Spence offers something he's never seen before. That being, a slick boxer, with the ability to throw power at will. Provodnikov, was a stalker, brawler, puncher, which can be outsmarted and outpointed, by movement and a decent jab. Pacquiao and Khan, are good boxers, but, lacked that killer instinct to go in for the kill and put Algieri down, due to past KO losses. Even tho, Algieri lost both of those fights, he was able to survive, which earns him some credibility and respect to his resume.
In Spence, Algieri will have to escape a fighter who will keep him on the back foot, and cut off the ring. Of course, Algieri will resort to the jab, but, I believe that Spence's movement will allow him to get past the jab. Spence, does really well at putting in time to the body, which as we all know, can spell goodnight for Algieri, should his hands drop. This fight to me, is more about Spence showcasing his skills against a semi well-known fighter. If Spence can stop Algieri in dramatic fashion, which I think he can, he will have been able to do something both Khan and Pacquiao couldn't. This earns him respect, and has the ability to catapult Spence into the next level of boxing competition. Spence is going to be something special, and I am just glad I get to see it take place. - 925