Photo by Jr. Barron/RBRBoxing
Rising star and Texas native, Errol Spence Jr. (18-0, 16 KOs), otherwise known as “The Truth,” showcased his skills in front an electric hometown crowd in Dallas, Texas as the co-main event feature of the November 28 edition of Premier Boxing Champions on NBC.
As soon as Spence made his way into the ring, the crowd erupted in cheers for their hometown hero. Spence would take on Alejandro Barrera (26-3, 17 KOs) in an IBF eliminator bout that could lead to a fight against the winner of Kell Brook against whoever he decides to face off against in 2016.
From the opening bell, Spence forced the action onto Barrera who welcomed him in the center of the ring. Spence would come in working multiple punch combinations to the head and body, but Barrera never hesitated to return fire and landed some clean shots of his own.
It was evident that even with Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain in his corner, Barrera would be in for a difficult night. Going into the 2nd, Spence would again apply the pressure, while at the same time staying cautious of incoming blows from odd angles.
Barrera would find himself stuck in a corner throughout the round trying to avoid 3 to 5 punch combinations, but was able to land enough himself to make it out of the round.
3 rounds later, cheers began in the crowd, “man down, man down, man down!,” as the Dallas fans began to sense that their fighter could close the show soon. In the 5th, Spence would press the action once more until a one-two to the body dropped Barrera next to his corner for a standing eight-count.
Barrera would rise up but had signs of pain due to the body blows. As soon as referee Laurence Cole gave the green light for the fight to continue, Spence would pounce on Barrera, who could not handle the shots much longer, and eventually Cole put a stop to the bout.
Spence, who is now a highly ranked in the Welterweight division, made it clear after the bout that he is ready for the top names now.
“I want top 10 welterweights. My goal is to become a world champion. If I have to go to England to fight Kell Brook, I’m willing to do that,” said a confident Spence.
“The strategy was to be patient and to pick my spots. He was more awkward than I thought he would be. I rushed it a little bit but once I got myself composed I picked my spots and listened to my coach,” said Spence.
The 147 division is home to the top names in boxing, and Spence is making a very strong case to be mentioned among them all. Should he continue to impress boxing fans, we may see him fight the likes of Brook, Porter, or Thurman.
