Highlights
–Errol Spence Jr. established first-round pressure against Chris Algieri, highlighted by a straight left and right to the body. In the second and third rounds, he pinned Algieri against the ropes on at least three occasions and nailed him with a seemingly endless stream of uppercuts, hooks and crosses with both hands.
–Known for his toughness, Algieri absorbed the punishment before finally succumbing in the fourth round, when he dropped to one knee after Spence connected flush with a left cross.
–Spence put his opponent on the deck twice more in the fifth round courtesy of left crosses, the second of which was a vicious, head-swiveling shot that dropped Algieri to his seat. Referee Benjy Esteves Jr. immediately stepped in and halted the fight at the 48-second mark.
Heading into his 147-pound showdown against Errol Spence Jr., Chris Algieri claimed that his undefeated opponent had been coddled and would “feel my power early.” Algieri’s trainer John David Jackson took it a step further, stating that Spence had “been spoon-fed his opponents” leading up to Saturday’s clash.
Turns out it was Algieri who was forced to eat his words—not to mention a bunch of punches from his “coddled” foe—as Spence put on a boxing clinic, scoring three knockdowns on his way to a fifth-round TKO win at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
In earning his seventh consecutive stoppage victory, Spence (20-0, 17 KOs) became the first fighter to knock out Algieri (21-3, 8 KOs).
Looking as if he was extra motivated by Algieri and Jackson’s pre-fight words, Spence came out with a vengeance from the opening bell. The 26-year-old from Desoto, Texas, pinned Algieri on the ropes during the second and third rounds, unleashing a searing double-handed barrage of hooks, crosses and uppercuts.
In the fourth round, Algieri took a knee after getting clobbered with a left cross. The lifelong resident of Huntington, New York, made it to his feet and finished the round, but early in the fifth, Spence unleashed another left that sent Algieri reeling backward and onto his backside.
As he fell awkwardly, Algieri appeared to injure his right leg, wincing and grabbing at his right knee while sitting on the canvas. Again, though, the 32-year-old made it to his feet, and again, Spence went on the attack, this time finishing the job with a brutal, head-swiveling left cross.
By the time Algieri crumpled to the canvas, referee Benjy Esteves stepped in and waved an end to the bout at the 48-second mark.
Rising 147-pound star Errol Spence Jr. dishes out punishment during his fifth-round TKO victory over Chris Algieri on Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York. (Ryan Greene/Premier Boxing Champions)
