Errol Spence destroyed Leonard Bundu and is set for a huge future
Tuesday 23 August 2016 10:16, UK
Errol Spence has sent shock waves through boxing with his annihilation of Leonard Bundu, writes Isaac Robinson.
IBF world welterweight champion Kell Brook has gone from the frustration of struggling to find viable challenges to suddenly finding himself preparing for one of the most glamorous bouts Britain will have ever witnessed. Furthermore, he is now being waited on by the world's classiest mandatory challenger.
Errol Spence has had to force this. Not, it's important to point out immediately, because of Brook. By agreeing to take on fearsome middleweight Gennady Golovkin, 'The Special One' has risen high above any suspicion he was trying to protect his unbeaten record by facing sub-standard opponents.
It's more a case of Spence having all of the skill and none of the exposure. By becoming the first man to dispatch Bundu (33-2-2-KO12) inside the distance (and doing so in the sixth round), he may have gone some way to rectify the situation in terms of commercial sway.
WBA champion Keith Thurman couldn't halt 'The Lion' in December 2014 and the fact Spence did so with such emphasis speaks volumes. Going a month further back to cross-reference his 'form' with even bigger names, Manny Pacquiao was taken the distance by Chris Algieri. In April this year, Spence blew the New Yorker away in five.
He's been calling big names for a long time but ever since the whispers he was ejected from Floyd Mayweather's camp for dishing out too much brilliance in a sparring session with 'Money', Spence has found no queue outside his door and has had to fight through the crowd towards the spotlight. Saturday night represented a breakthrough, and he's now on the brink of official illumination.
While the rumours of events inside the Mayweather gym have always afforded Spence a lofty degree of promise in the eyes of experts, this sport is dictated by finance. The fact 'The Truth' was reluctant to adorn (or cheapen, some might say) his talent with trash-talk has slowed his ascent but devastating knockouts, as we have seen with the mild-mannered Golovkin, can be deafening.
With his controlled, respectful manner outside of the ring and his effortless class inside it, Spence is treading a dignified if not direct path to the top. Turn up at press conferences uninvited, screaming for attention and demanding showdowns? It may work for gregarious characters such as Shannon Briggs, but Spence seems content to grind his way to the top in comparative quiet.
There is little mystique surrounding boxers at the very top these days, because showy outfits and outlandish statements are part of the culture and riches inspire a perception of success. Success breeds success or, in boxing terms, lucrative bouts breed lucrative bouts. Spence appears completely disinterested in getting ahead that way.
The social media outlets of fighters are usually littered with boasts of wealth; Mayweather, coincidentally, has never been shy of showing off his latest supercars. A browse through Spence's output yields little in that regard. Instead, while he's always smartly turned-out when ringside, he's conspicuous in group photos for lacking a whale-weight tonnage of gold around his neck.
Similarities with Brook are obvious. Both are supremely gifted and neither tends to let their mouth take centre stage. Both are unbeaten with impressive knockout records and in terms of the calibre of their opponents, it's tight. Brook's finest hour to date was relieving Shawn Porter of the IBF world title while Spence has sent former world champion Algieri and Bundu packing early in his last two bouts. Toss a coin, but Brook has the belt.
Great fights don't necessarily need animosity. Of course it spices up a press conference and it heightens interest but when the first bell goes, the build-up has melted away to irrelevance and what counts to fans is the spectacle of the fight itself. You get the impression if Brook ends up defending against Spence, the two would express the same mutual respect we are seeing between Brook and Golovkin. It's no bad thing.
Perhaps most excitingly, Brook v Spence is possible regardless of the result against Golovkin. The Sheffield star will retain IBF world welterweight champion status even he is knocked out by the Kazakh's opening punch. Upset the odds and Brook will become a global superstar overnight. Spence might have to chase him then but their paths should still cross somewhere down the line.
The clear stumbling block to Spence's hope of exercising his mandatory right is the very real possibility that Brook will never make 147lbs again... That and the fact that the American probably needs to make one more big noise against a celebrated welterweight name in order to first maximise earning power.
As ever, this all remains to be seen but whichever way you cut it, Spence is making himself unavoidable both officially and commercially. Whether it's against Brook or someone else, boxing fans should look forward to seeing rather than hearing 'The Truth'.
Watch Gennady Golovkin v Kell Brook live on Sky Sports Box Office on September 10.
