Rising star Errol Spence Jr. (22-0 19 KO) will give veteran and former two division champion Lamont Peterson (35-3-1 17 KO) a shot at his IBF Welterweight World Title on Saturday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This will be Spence’s first defense of the title that he captured in Kell Brook’s back yard. Peterson relinquished his WBA Welterweight strap in order to be able to knuckelup with Spence.
Tape Tales
Spence Jr. Age-28, Height- 5’9 1/2, Reach- 72″, Southpaw
Peterson- Age- 33 Height- 5’9, Reach-72″, Orthodox
Last 3-
Spence- (3-0)
5-27-17 TKO 11 over Kell Brook
8-21-16 KO 6 over Leonard Bundu
4-16-16 TKO 5 over Chris Algieri
Peterson- (2-1)
2-18-17 UD over David Avanesyan
10-17-15 MD over Felix Diaz
4-11-15 Loss- Danny Garcia MD
Common Opponents May Provide A Bit Of Clarity
None/none of note.
And The Winner Is…
The resume is all Peterson, having fought some of the best fighters in their prime, Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Victor Ortiz, Timothy Bradley Jr. The experience alone for Peterson should allow him to have at least some moments in this matchup. Both are at different stages in their respective careers, Spence a rising star, Peterson seeming to have missed opportunities along the way.
In the past two years Peterson has fought once and comes in facing one of the top P4P fighters in the game. This will not end well. Peterson does not have the power to keep Spence honest. What Peterson does have is the boxing skills to create puzzles for the champion but Spence has shown that he adapts quickly to his opponents and with a stong boxing skill set of his own will overcome anything that Peterson provides. The difference is that Spence has shown the ability to hurt his opponents be it over the course of the fight or at any given time. It is the speed and movement of Spence that masks his power. Peterson may have some slight success with the jab but Spence will attack him to the body forcing him to deviate from his plan.
Spence has shown that he does not rush his attack and is perfectly content admiring his body of work over several rounds before he makes the decision to turn things up. It is at these moments that you see Spence starting to land with bad intentions. He’s like a shark that smells blood, he will walk his opponent down, work them to the body on the ropes, and land blistering combinations to the head.
Spence will respect Peterson but will drop him early forcing Peterson to fight mostly defensively the rest of the way. That said, Peterson is a game warrior and will try to change the course of the fight but his power output will be negated by Spence’s power input.
Spence by 8th round stoppage.
Standing-8 