The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of April 17
Boxing has a brand-new shining star.
Errol Spence Jr. proved he is indeed "The Truth" with a fifth-round knockout of Chris Algieri, who was widely viewed as a big step up and the toughest opponent of his young career.
We ponder whether Spence's win already makes him the top dog in the loaded welterweight division.
Next, we turn our attention to Gennady Golovkin's pursuit of a 22nd straight knockout victory when he defends his middleweight titles Saturday night against Dominic Wade on HBO.
Roman Gonzalez, boxing's current pound-for-pound king, also fights on that card, and we'll look at what he needs to do to retain his spot atop those mythical rankings.
All that and more in this week's edition of the hottest storylines in boxing.
Is Errol Spence Jr. Already the Best Welterweight in the World?
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It's not a ridiculous question to ask after Saturday night's performance at the Barclays Center.
Spence graduated from blue-chip prospect to legitimate welterweight contender with a five-round pasting of Algieri—a former 140-pound titlist who had never been stopped before and had withstood the punching power of Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov.
The end result wasn't the shocking part.
Most felt Spence would win, even though there was a smattering of people who gave Algieri a good chance of using his range and boxing ability to pull the upset. However, nobody predicted that the 2012 U.S. Olympian would walk right through him.
Spence fought like a fighter seasoned well beyond his years.
He physically bullied Algieri into positions that left him vulnerable to his huge speed advantage, dropping him three times and ending the fight with a picture-perfect left that would have stopped any fighter in the division.
And he didn't pull any punches after the fight either, calling out the best fighters at 147 pounds. In his post-fight comments, he said he'd be willing to travel across the pond to fight Kell Brook for the IBF Welterweight Championship.
It's a big question as to whether Brook and his team would take that fight (though it will be his mandatory), given the risk and relative low (financial) reward, but it would be a chance for Spence to establish himself as the best fighter in the division.
He might already be there. He's certainly the most talented and possibly the most complete.
And that's the truth.
Can Golovkin Continue His Streak?
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Golovkin has stopped 21 consecutive opponents on his way toward unifying the middleweight titles and becoming one of the sport's most exciting and popular fighters.
He hopes to extend that number to 22 when he defends his WBA, IBF and interim WBC Middleweight Championships Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California, against mandatory challenger Wade.
Golovkin was obviously hoping for a bigger name, but he's repeatedly stated his desire to unify all the 160-pound division's belts, and that requires mandatories. And let's be honest, it wasn't like any higher-profile foes were lining up at the window for the opportunity to face the power-punching Kazakh.
Tureano Johnson was originally slated to receive this assignment, but the Bahamian was forced to withdraw from consideration with a shoulder injury. That left Wade, a 26-year-old fighter who most still consider a prospect, in the right place at the right time.
Or, as seems likely, perhaps he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
GGG is widely expected to blast straight through Wade in the way he has over his previous 21 opponents.
There's nothing in the challenger's previous 18 starts, which include his recent controversial decision over former world champ Sam Soliman (a fight some felt he lost), that says he can stand up to the hell he'll see in Inglewood.
Expect Wade to become No. 22 and GGG to move on to what seems like an increasingly fruitless (for the time being, at least) pursuit of Canelo Alvarez in one of the biggest fights that can be made in boxing.
Will Chocolatito Retain His Top Spot?
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Gonzalez is the sport's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport on lists compiled by Bleacher Report, ESPN and The Ring magazine.
That's an impressive haul of accolades for a fighter whom mainstream boxing fans barely knew before a breakout 2015 catapulted him into the spotlight.
Chocolatito defends the WBC Flyweight Championship Saturday night against Puerto Rican puncher McWilliams Arroyo in the main support bout for GGG-Wade.
Arroyo may not have been the sexy pick that some fans were hoping for in this spot, but you'd be damn hard-pressed to find a bigger puncher in the lower weight divisions. This guy can really crack, and he's more than capable of making for an interesting and exciting fight against the Nicaraguan champion.
An exciting fight is just what Gonzalez needs to take the next step in the eyes of some remaining skeptics.
Gonzalez is starting to feel some pressure from below him on the mythical P4P ranks.
GGG is nipping at his heels, and Sergey Kovalev is right there, along with a resurgent Andre Ward, who might well have been the man to inherit the top spot had he chosen to fight more in the ring than in court over the past few years.
A win over a hard-punching foe could hold those guys off for a little longer and set the stage for some dynamic fights in the lower weight classes later in the year.
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Can PBC Turn the Tide?
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You may have noticed a different feel emanating from the Premier Boxing Champions card in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night.
Gone were the gaudy sets, music and ring walks, designed to attract the masses and particularly the younger crowd, and so was the heavyweight announcing team that graced people's television sets when the series premiered a little over a year ago.
No more Marv Albert, Al Michaels or Sugar Ray Leonard.
And no energy in the arena at all.
It was so bad that USA Today's Mike Coppinger wondered aloud on Twitter if PBC was facing the beginning of the end.
The news got worse Sunday when ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported via Twitter that the show only drew an average of 1.24 million viewers, down more than 600,000 from the previous low. Rafael also pointed out that every PBC card on NBC had drawn "fewer viewers than the previous one."
All these scenarios represent huge problems for the long-term survival of the effort at bringing boxing mainstream attention once again launched by uber-manager/power broker Al Haymon just over a year ago.
The damn shame of all this is that Saturday's card featuring Spence's coming-out party and an entertaining cruiserweight title scrap that saw Krzysztof Glowacki pound out a decision over Steve Cunningham was fun and well-matched.
Boxing fans missed a heck of a show.
Why Is AIBA Going Forward with Its Ridiculous Idea?
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AIBA, the International Amateur Boxing Association, is plowing forward with plans to meet next month to repeal provisions that disallow professional fighters from competing at the Olympics. It's unclear at this point whether the timing of the change would allow pros to compete this summer in Rio.
Opposition to the idea has come from many quarters, with the most high-profile criticism coming from the World Boxing Council and its president, Mauricio Sulaiman.
The WBC announced in March it would ban any of its champions or fighters ranked in the Top 15 of a division should they compete in the Olympics.
The WBC's statement read as follows, per Sky Sports:
"It is not possible to imagine, much less accept a fight between professional boxers, who already have a physical development and more advanced technical skills, facing young fighters that are just starting this process.
Boxing is not a game. There is no scoring with goals or baskets. Rather, it is a contact sport which must be taken seriously. Reasoning must prevail, the function of all bodies must be always care and regulate the safety and healthcare of boxers.
"
It's hard to argue that logic.
Professional fighters competing against amateurs is an awful idea.
It's dangerous and should not happen, yet it seems poised to become a real possibility, if not this time then definitely next.
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