Rising star welterweight Errol Spence (20-0, 17 KOs) passed the toughest test of his young career by stopping former WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri (21-3, 8 KOs) in Round five at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York Saturday night.
Southpaw Spence came out firing in the opening stanza--pumping jabs in Algieri’s face. Algieri, 32, used the ring and looked for ways to counter. Spence cracked Algieri with a hard right to the rib cage. A few seconds later a left hand knocked Algieri into the ropes.
In Rounds two and three, Spence picked up the pace. He forced Algieri into the ropes and ripped a number shots to the head and body. Algieri ducked a few of the blows, but also ate some. A clever right by Algieri temporarily stopped Spence’s onslaught. Spence’s three jabs and an uppercut likely had Algieri wondering if he should make his day job as a nutritionist his full-time gig.