By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a fight about possibilities, one to measure where Errol Spence Jr. belongs and another about generating some real buzz for bigger business.
It’s all up to Spence (22-0, 19 KOs), an overwhelming favorite who will be judged more on how he wins than if he wins a Saturday night bout with Lamont Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs). Expectations have come with Spence’s dynamic rise through the welterweight ranks.
He’s expected to be great, a pound-for-pound contender alongside Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Mikey Garcia, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.
A date with Peterson at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is a test of what has been seen and said about him. Spence calls himself The Truth. A Showtime audience (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET) will be looking for it in a fighter who just had a birthday. He turned 28 last Saturday.
“Everyone knows my style,’’ Spence told the media Wednesday at a public workout. “The outcome usually is a stoppage. I won’t be looking for it, but if it presents itself, I’ll be ready to take advantage.’’
Guess here: That opportunity will be there, early and often. There is much to like about Peterson. Growing up homeless makes him a compelling story. In the ring, he’s a mix of clever skill and inexhaustible will. He’s a survivor. But he hasn’t fought since his only bout in 2017, a scorecard victory over David Avanesyan last February in Cincinnati. He celebrates his own birthday a few days after Saturday. He turns 34 Wednesday. He is leaving his prime just as Spence is entering his.
What’s more, Peterson, a former junior-welterweight champion, has never been known for power. Against Spence, that’s problematic. Spence moves forward, ever forward, like water in a high-pressure hose. Without some sting in Peterson’s hands, it will be tough to keep the incoming Spence off him.
It all adds up to a fight that few think Peterson can win. The odds are overwhelming. Spence is favored anywhere from 10-to-1 to 15-to-1 on the various internet books. In Vegas, Spence is minus-2500, Peterson plus-1100. Forget the if. The only pick-em in this one is when. From this corner, Spence ends it within six rounds.
If the survivor in Peterson forces the bout to the scorecards, there are bound to be questions, especially if it is close. A narrow decision would erode Spence’s pound-for-pound credentials. It also would damage the business’ immediate prospects.
There’s already plenty of talk about Spence-versus-Keith Thurman for all the perceived marbles in the welterweight division. Thurman is still in rehab for surgery on an elbow injury sustained in a victory last March over Danny Garcia. He figures to test that elbow in at least one bout. Then, perhaps a showdown with Spence looms later this year.
There’s also mounting talk about Spence against Crawford, already No. 1 on several pound-for-pound lists. Crawford, who won pound-for-pound votes with his dominant stoppage of Julius Indongo in August, is moving up from 140 to welterweight, probably in April against Jeff Horn.
Now it’s up to Spence to deliver a performance that puts some punch into those possibilities.
