By Ian S Palmer
The Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series returns this Saturday, April 16th as unbeaten southpaw Errol Spence Jr. takes on fellow American Chris Algieri in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The contest between the up-and-coming Spence and the former champion Algieri can be seen live in North America on the NBC network. Spence will enter the ring with a perfect record of 19-0 along with 16 Kos while Algieri is 21-2 and has just 8 Kos to his name.
For the 26-year-old Spence of Desoto, Texas, this will be a step up in class as his previous opponents have included Phil Lo Greco, Chris van Heerden, Samuel Vargas and Alejandro Barrera. He’s boxed 86 rounds since turning pro in 2012, but has a lot of amateur experience as he competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. Spence is just over 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a 72-inch reach. He has pretty good power and enters the fight with an impressive knockout ratio of 84 per cent Algieri turned pro in 2008 and has fought 156 rounds since with a low knockout ratio of 35 per cent. He stands 5-foot-10 and also has a reach of 72 inches.
The 32-year-old Algieri earned a junior welterweight title back in June of 2014 at the Barclays Center when he beat Ruslan Provodnikov by a split decision. His last loss was a controversial decision to England’s Amir Khan last May and he’s also been beaten by Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision. He’s recorded wins over Mike Arnaoutis, Curtis Smith and Emanuel Taylor. His last outing was in December when he beat Erick Bone by Unanimous decision. This will basically be a hometown fight for the former kickboxing champion since he hails from nearby Huntington, New York.
Algieri is a former kickboxer who has pretty good boxing skills. However, his chin is somewhat on the questionable side, especially since Pacquiao dropped him five times in their bout. In addition, he doesn’t have much in the way of power, but still has enough snap in his punches to drop an opponent. What Algieri does possess a lot of is heart and determination as he always bounces back to his feet from a knockdown.
Prediction
Algieri and Spence are two skilled boxers with Spence having the edge in power. It’s hard to go against Algieri since he’s beaten Provodnikov and held his own against Pacquiao and Khan. However, Spence is six years younger and appears to be the real deal. He doesn’t have to worry much about Algieri’s power, but might be discouraged to find that his opponent has a pretty solid chin regardless of his knockdowns against Pacquiao. This is a good test for Spence and he’s probably good enough at this point in his career to just pass it. Look for Spence to win the bout, but don’t be shocked if Algieri takes it on points either.
