By Ian S Palmer
The Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series returns this Sunday, August 21st as unbeaten American southpaw prospect Errol Spence Jr. takes on fellow Leonard Bundu of Italy. The 12-round bout can be seen live from the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island, New York in North America on the NBC network while fans in the UK can catch the action on BoxNation. Spence’s last outing was a fifth-round stoppage over fellow American Chris Algieri at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York back in April. Bundu last fought in April as well and beat Jussi Koivula by ninth-round stoppage for the vacant European Welterweight Championship. This contest is being billed as an IBF title eliminator. Spence is currently ranked second by the IBF with Bundu ranked seventh.
The 26-year-old year-old Spence of Desoto, Texas will enter the ring with a perfect record of 20-0 along with 17 Kos. He stepped up in class when meeting Algieri after previously beating opponents such as Phil Lo Greco, Chris van Heerden, Samuel Vargas and Alejandro Barrera. Spence has boxed 71 rounds since turning pro in 2012, but has a lot of amateur experience as he competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. He stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a 72-inch reach. He has pretty good speed and power and enters the fight with an impressive knockout ratio of 85 per cent.
The 41-year-old Bundu is a two-time European Welterweight Champion who will climb into the ring with a record of 33-1-2. Bundu has beaten the likes of Lee Purdy and Frankie Gavin with his lone loss coming at the hands Keith Thurman by 12-round unanimous decision in December of 2014. However, he’s relatively unknown outside of Europe. Bundu’s an accomplished boxer even though he’s quite short for a welterweight at just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a reach of 68.5 inches. He’s still going strong, especially for somebody of his age and he’s also a southpaw. He’s got good speed, but lacks a little when it comes to punching power as his knockout ratio is just 33 per cent. Bundu has fought 236 rounds since turning pro in 2005.
Bundu definitely got a late start in the sport since he was already 30 years old when he turned pro. However, he did have a good amateur career which saw him participate in close to 150 fights. He also fought for his homeland in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Bundu probably needs to get out of Europe for a few fights if he hopes to get a world title shot and he’ll need to beat Spence, which nobody has managed to achieve as of yet. He’s also giving up a reach and height advantage to the American.
Prediction
This is a good test for Spence even though Bundu is 41 years old. The European champ is a smart fighter with just enough power to keep his opponents honest. He showed he’s competitive in his bout against Thurman, but will once again be facing a young and quick boxer with good power. Bundu should put up a fight, but Spence should take it by a relatively comfortable decision or possibly by a late stoppage.
