To have so many fights Spence has only faced a few top guys. I think he showed some holes but he was getting hit by a very strong guy in Special K. I think a match up with One Time will show us he has really improved or we might see him go down and see if he has the grit to recover and continue like Special K did in their fight. Good observations and you always give it to us straight with no fan boy BS
I was impressed. It was a big occasion on foreign soil and he seemed to handle it flawlessly from the moment he landed in the UK. As a Boxer he isnt perfect, theres been plenty picked up on from that fight but this was by far his biggest test so far, I see Spence, Brook and Thurman as the big 3 at Welter and Spence just got rid of Brook. If Brook hadnt had any successes we would be thinking Spence is the new Floyd. But then im quickly becoming a real big fan of Spence so i may be a little biased, even though i wanted him to lose just this once. I like the way he comes across, he seems to have respect for himself, the sport and his opposition and most importantly he is exciting to watch fight. American casuals and hardcore fans alike needing somebody to really get behind now Floyds gone have been given 2 real gems in Spence and Crawford.
Actually, that wasn't a bad comparison and it sheds light for me on why you would say that. I think that he moves better than Tito and I think that his fight game will improve because he is a student of boxing and a thinking fighter. He will make adjustments. Good insight.
I think peoples expectations of Spence were too high going in. People were hoping he'd be the next Mayweather, the next P4P and PPV King but fact is he was never going to live up to that and now people realise that. Fighter like Mayweather don't come along that often to expect the next potentially big thing to fill those giant shoes is unrealistic.
I wasnt one of those people as ive been saying people needed to temper their expectations. I do admit though that i expected that even if he lost he`d look better than he did. I didnt think he was clearly the best ww by a wide margin like many others did but i thought he could be the best and might show it. Now that i got a better gauge on him as a fighter i still think hes really good but clearly not the clear cut best. I know this is crazy but again that is my thread title but i see really good but nothing special. I dont think thats a bad thing it just is.
i look forward to seeing how this pans out, as you and i share opposing views on spence and thurman, but you present a thought out case. it will be interesting. as to one of your points, i dont think spence had real trouble dealing with brooks right hand. brook has a deceptively quick right hand, it was on full display against golovkin. spence is constantly initiating the contact, invading his space, when you fight in that style, there are more opportunities for your opponent to time you and catch you. sure, he could have gotten hit less, but i really dont see it as a major problem.
Itll be a major problem when he gets in with Thurman. I think we can both agree taking flush right hands from Thurman is a terrible idea. I cant wait till they get in to face each other and even though i see Thurman winning its not going to be easy and wouldnt be in any way surprised if Spence won. Great fights ahead for us fans.
Spence did about as good as I expected against a guy with the experience level of Kell Brook. I mean, Spence had no top welterweight experience on his resume tbh.
Spence gave himself a B- in the post fight interview. If he can beat brook in his home country (who is top 3 in a stacked division) with a B- level performance, hes a great fighter for sure and has the potential to be am ATG. Hes only 27, he can improve.
He is a body puncher that's the bread and butter punch for Spence. I can see how he gave Void problems he just wails away at the body.
Spence will stop and retire Thurman. I love Danny Swift Garcia but Spence will beat Danny though it would go the distance because of Danny's inate toughness. Crawford vs Spence will be a battle of the ages toss up akin to Hearns vs Ray Leonard. Can't predict that one.
I think that fight happens in late `18 or early `19. I think we can all agree if spence makes it through the gauntlet at ww unscathed and Crawford is unbeaten when they meet itll be legendary.
Although his performance was not perfect, I don't think he gets enough credit for his win. His body punching was on point. He took shots from probably the most powerful puncher at WW. He got stronger and more aggressive as the fight went on (which most people doubted he could do). IMO I don't see anyone else challenging him more than he was against brook. If anything, this fight probably made him a lot better. His other fights seemed a little too easy, this was his first real challenge and he over came it. I didn't expect this fight to be easy, but I did expect him to win.