Premier Boxing Champions 2016: Fight Card and TV Schedule for April 16
Welterweight contender Errol Spence Jr. (19-0, 16 KO) will take a major step in his career on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The former Olympian will face former 140-pound world champion Chris Algieri (21-2, eight KO) in the main event of the next Premier Boxing Champions card.
The co-featured bout will see undefeated WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki (25-0, 16 KO) defending his title against former two-time titleholder Steve "USS" Cunningham (28-7-1, 13 KO).
Here's how you can watch the show:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
When: Saturday, April 16, at 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
TV: NBC
He Got Next
You hear talk about young fighters like Adrien Broner, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and even newly crowned heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua being the guys who could take over the sport of boxing in the near future. As talented as those three are, the 26-year-old Spence might be better than all of them.
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. protege has a dangerous blend of speed, power and laser focus in the ring. The combination has stoked him to his current undefeated record and put him in position to challenge for a world title soon.
Algieri is a slick boxer who has speed, a high in-ring IQ and toughness. He figures to provide a test for Spence just based on his experience alone. That quality isn't lost on Spence, but he's still confident. Per Premier Boxing Champions, Spence said:
"This is a huge opportunity for me, to be this young and early in my career and headlining a prime-time event, just the exposure alone. Chris Algieri has been in the ring with Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov, and he’s a former world champ.
This is a big fight for me and a step up, but I plan to rise to the occasion. I’m going to handle him like I’ve handled all of my past opponents.
"
Algieri snapped a two-fight losing streak in December 2015 with a unanimous-decision win over Erick Bone. He'll be looking to shock the boxing community the same way he did back in June 2014, when he upset Ruslan Provodnikov to win the WBO light welterweight title.
In Spence's last fight in November 2015, he torched Alejandro Barrera, stopping him in the fifth round. It was Spence's sixth straight win by stoppage. Algieri has never been stopped in his career, but Spence will be looking to send him home early.
Turning Back the Hands of Time
Cunningham established himself as one of the best cruiserweights in recent memory, but at 39 years old, his career is close to the end. He had a predominantly unsuccessful run at heavyweight, and he now comes back to cruiserweight looking for his third world title.
Glowacki won't go quietly. The 29-year-old Polish champion scored a dramatic 11th-round TKO victory over longtime titleholder Marco Huck in August 2015.
If Glowacki can knock off Cunningham, he'll establish himself as the premier cruiserweight in the sport and one of boxing's most respected champions. His willingness to defend the title against top competition hearkens back to the champions from a different era.
Instead of picking a safe opponent for his first title defense, Glowacki is instead tabbing a seasoned veteran who at least should be able to push him. It should be an interesting night of fights.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
