Errol Spence Jr.’s move to a title shot against WBC/WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora in a fight being negotiated for October doesn’t surprise boxing expert Chris Algieri.
The former unified welterweight champion Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) was allowed into the ring after Fundora’s upset win over WBO 154-lb champion Tim Tszyu last March at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. That hinted Spence would be the next opponent for ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) to defend against.
It’s troubling because Spence is backing into a title shot off of a knockout loss to Terence Crawford last July and a 15-month layoff. Spence has never fought at 154, yet he’s a world title ahead of the more deserving contenders.
This is more about business. Spence is more popular than the contenders ahead of him at 154, so he’s being vaulted to the top of a division he’s never fought in to get a world title shot against the two-belt champion Fundora.
Spence: The Main Attraction
“I’m not surprised by this at all. Obviously, they flew the guy in to meet in the ring after the fight. Spence was always going to be the guy,” said boxing expert Chris Algieri to Probox TV about Errol Spence Jr. being allowed into the ring last March moments after Sebastian Fundora’s upset victory over WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The fact that he’s [Spence] is coming off a year layoff. It’s going to be a year and a half by the time this fight happens if this is the fight that’s going to happen, and he took such a beating from Crawford.”
Spence doesn’t believe in taking tune-ups, which is arguably one reason why he took a bad beating in his last fight against Crawford. He’d been out of the ring for over a year going into that fight, and he paid the price.
“It is curious that he’s backing into a fight like this, but he lives by the, ‘I don’t do tune-ups. I want big fights. I want a title shot.’ It is a name. If you’re a money guy, you have one system of law, and if you’re not, you have another system of law,” said Algieri.
A Strategic Matchup
“What we have in front of us is not a bad fight. It makes a lot of sense, especially from a business perspective. Fundora is not the money guy. He’s not the well known guy. There’s a ton of question marks. He’s honestly the weaker champion in the division, and now you bring a guy like Spence in,” said Algieri about Fundora.
Of the champions at 154, Fundora is the most popular one, and that’s not saying much. None of the champions at junior middleweight have a large fan base, but Fundora is coming off a big win over Tim Tszyu and he has two belts. It makes sense for those reasons to have Spence challenge him for his straps.
“Okay, you get the Spence win. You just beat a main guy. You got Spence’s head on your roster,” said Algieri. “Now you’ve elevated yourself. Also, they’re going to be doing it in Dallas where Spence sells. Also, you’ve got the Mexican fan base. They’re very, very close.
“If Spence wins, and honestly, I think he should. Wherever he’s at in this point, I think he still has enough to beat Fundora. Spence is back and a major player, and the guy sells. Promoters love Spence because he sells. He makes a lot of money,’ said Algieri.
If Spence wins, it gives him two titles at 154 that he can use to build the rematch with Crawford. It doesn’t matter that Spence has little hope of defeating Crawford. The fight will make boatloads of money, and that’s all that matters.
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