Errol Spence, Jr. (Photo : Twitter)
Manny Pacquiao is now retired, but boxing fans believe that the right opponent could force him to return.
How about Errol Spence, the fighter hailed as the next Floyd Mayweather? The welterweight remains undefeated after 20 fights and has an impressive 17 knockouts.
He fought against Chris Algieri, a fighter who lost his last two fights after beating Ruslan Provodnikov. On his fight against Manny Pacquiao, he was brought to the canvas six times but he was not knocked out. At least on that point, Spence has achieved what the Filipino legend could not.
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, Spence is the "No. 1 up-and-comer in boxing," and he proved that claim when he seemed to come out of the fight unscathed while Algieri was reeling from a hard left on the canvas.
Spence definitely has the swagger, dancing around the ring after knocking out the hapless Algieri. The entire fight can be seen here.
After the fight, Spence let everyone know what he achieved: "I thought it was going to be late [knockout] to be honest, but Chris Algieri is a tough fighter, and I'm just thankful for the opportunity he gave me," Spence said. "It meant a lot to get the stoppage. I did something Manny Pacquiao couldn't do, nor Amir Khan. That shows where I'm at in the welterweight division. Everyone wanted to see what I could do against a proven fighter, and I blew him out of the water."
Pacquiao was dominant during their fight, but he did not seem to have enough angst to finish the fight. Khan actually struggled against Algieri and the American fighter actually believed he won the fight.
"Not taking anything away from him. He's a hungry, young lion, and he'll be a great champion one day," Algieri said.
Of course, his promoter Lou DeBella will trumpet his achievements: "I tell you what -- Mayweather ain't coming out of retirement to fight him. Spence is a scary man.
"He's left the prospect ranks. He might beat all of them. Pacquiao? I'd bet my house right now he beats Pacquiao."
Will Pacquiao bite? Perhaps he needs a title first to lure Pacman out of retirement. Yahoo Sports boxing expert Kevin Iole stated that Spence's camp has called out Kell Brook, the current IBF welterweight champion.
If he beats Brook, then Spence might get the Pacman's attention. The problem is that there are already rumors of fighters dodging the young knockout artist, and his next fight is yet to be determined.
