Highlights
—Errol Spence took control of the fight early, setting Chris van Heerden up with a double jab then smashing him with an overhand left in Round 2 that set a dominating tone for the rest of the night.
—In Round 7, Spence dropped Van Heerden for the first time in the South African's career after landing a clubbing left atop his right ear. Shortly thereafter, Van Heerden would be forced to take a knee after a wicked body shot.
—After unleashing a withering body attack and landing countless uppercuts, Spence won by TKO in Round 8 when referee Allan Huggins stopped the fight.
Chris van Heerden did plenty of mugging only to get mugged in return, as the South African fighter got brutalized by rising star Errol Spence Jr., who hammered his way to an eighth-round TKO victory.
Patient and poised, Spence methodically broke Van Heerden down with wince-inducing body shots, including lighting-quick combos to the ribs, a steady diet of uppercuts that snapped Van Heerden’s head back like he was a human Pez dispenser and a crisp jab that set everything up.
Van Heerden’s left eye began swelling up in Round 1 and only got worse throughout the fight until it seemed as if he could barely see out of it.
Spence took advantage and then some, sending Van Heerden to the canvas for the first time in his career in Round 7.
Shortly after that knockdown, Van Heerden was forced to take a knee after a wicked shot to the liver.
In the eighth round, Spence closed the deal to remain undefeated with a flurry of punishing, unanswered blows with both hands, leading referee Allan Huggins to stop the fight.
