Brooklyn, NY (January 10) – IBF Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr 22-0 (19 KO’s) kicks off the 2018 boxing season with a hellacious showdown against highly regarded veteran Lamont Peterson 35-3-1 (17 KO’s) Saturday, January 20 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Spence, who is arguably the most feared boxer in the sport, is coming off a KO win for the IBF title over Kell Brook in May. Spence only fought one time in 2017. Against Brook, Spence showed some vulnerability, but he showed more heart and skill in winning an 11th round KO thriller against a very good fighter in England. Spence’s inactivity had more to do with being unable to find opponents more so than his willingness to fight. While he hasn’t been in a live bout since May 2017, Spence does not expect any ring rust on January 20, “I don’t think so been training since Jermell Charlo camp. I have been in the gym and sparring and haven’t seen any signs of ring rust. I’m not worried about it at all.”…Errol Spence Jr.
Spence will be making his first title defense in Brooklyn, NY. He has a little extra encouragement to shine in New York, because of the support from New York boxing fans and his NY family roots.
While Peterson may not be the most highly regarded Welterweight, Spence recognizes his veteran skills: “I’ve seen too many fighters look down the road and get beat before they get to the big fight. I have to be 100 percent focused and hungry. I’m fully dedicated to this fight… Lamont can push me to even greater levels. I feel like he is a better fighter than Kell Brook and has even more heart than Kell Brook and he can bring out the best in me… I think it’s going to start out as a boxing match, but as we go on, it’s going to be a dog fight. We both have big hearts. I’ve never known Lamont to turn down any fight. Not a lot of people wanted to fight me. The big names shied away from me but Lamont stood up and said he’d fight me. This is going to be a hard fight.”…Errol Spence Jr
Peterson sees this an opportunity to fight for another world title and is thankful for the opportunity. While he is going in and facing the most feared fighter, Peterson’s calm and veteran outlook provide confidence to his camp his fans: “This is a world title fight and I’m thankful for that. I try not to make too much out of each fight. I just want to take it one fight at a time. I’ve done this for 13 years as a professional. All fights are the same. I’m going to go in there and take care of business… As a top fighter, you’re obligated to take what comes on the table. Regardless of who it is. It’s boxing. It’s a sport and we’re competitors. We want to go in there and compete to see who’s the best. We’re going to treat it like a business like we always do.”…Lamont Peterson
Spence’s superstar power and Peterson’s veteran grit make this a good fight and a great kickoff for the 2018 PBC and Showtime boxing season. If this is the start, then boxing and boxing fans should expect nothing less than a big 2018 from PBC.
Chris Williams
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