Errol Spence 23 (20 KO’s)-0-0 did what many were predicting yesterday in a seventh round technical knockout win over Lamont Peterson 35 (17 KO’s)-4 (2 KO’s)-1 at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn.
Prior to the fight it was unclear what sort of game plan Peterson would adopt to try and neutralise the younger, bigger, harder punching man. Whether Peterson would look to frustrate Spence for the early rounds and try to press the action later, or to attempt to get into the eye of the storm and walk down Spence from round one. This was the one employed by Peterson, who tried to do what few fighters even attempt to do, to try and mix it with Spence on the inside. Though Peterson did have success in the fight catching Spence with left hooks often as Spence was throwing his own, he will maybe look back on the fight thinking he should have done more early to avoid taking unnecessary punishment. A lack of head movement and overall activity on the way in meant that Peterson would often find himself in a position to try and land shots, but not throwing enough meant that as soon as he did this he would be lit up by Spence’s body attack.
If anybody needed any more convincing that Spence isn’t just a raw brawler, the first three rounds were really a showcase for Spence’s work on the outside, using good foot movement and a double jab left to the solar plexus combination that would consistently force Peterson to reset. Once Spence upped the tempo in the fifth round it just seemed like a matter of time before the Washington fighter would succumb to the punishment.
In the fifth Spence scored a knockdown on a temple shot scored by the left hand, and then as the fight progressed Peterson seemed to be backed up and on his bike increasingly. Between the seventh and eighth round Peterson’s trainer, Barry Hunter made a good call in pulling Peterson out of the fight, as it was becoming clear that the fight was becoming non-competitive.
Though this was never a good stylistic matchup for Peterson he can take pride in the heart he showed in the fight, and bravery in doing what few fighters even think of doing. As for Spence this fight just reinforced that you are going to have to be a special fighter just to last the distance let alone win rounds, and perhaps as a result serious call outs of other top welterweights such as: Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman have been very few and far between. Hopefully in time we will see if Spence can carry his performances over into the elite of the division again.
On the undercard Robert Easter Jnr 21 (14 KO’s)-0-0 won a close split decision over Javier Fortuna 33 (23 KO’s)-2 (1 KO)-1 to retain his IBF lightweight title, though the title was not on the line for Fortuna as he had missed weight. Fortuna was deducted a point in round two, and if it was not for this the result would have been a split draw.