By Carlos Boogs

Unbeaten welterweight contender Errol Spence (20-0, 17KOs) made a serious statement last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

In five one-sided rounds, Spence crushed former WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri. Three knockdowns were scored before the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight.

It was the first stoppage loss for Algieri, who many view as a durable fighter.

In the first half of 2014, Algieri survived a brutal first round, where he was down twice, to win a close decision over Ruslan Provodnikov. In the fall of the same year, Algieri got up from six knockdowns to go the full twelve round distance with eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Spence was asked to explain on why he was so successful in finishing Algieri off and why Pacquiao, after six knockdowns, was unable to close the show. He says Pacquiao, while strong and fast, lacks some of the basic fundamentals for a good boxer - like cutting off the ring. 

Pacquiao's inability to properly cut off the ring allowed Algieri to last the full distance and also hurt the Filipino star when he lost a twelve round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May, according to the opinion of Spence.

When Algieri was seriously hurt, Spence prevented him from getting away by cutting off the ring.

"It goes back to what my coach said. Manny Pacquiao is a hard puncher, he's quick - but he lacks fundamentals and that's what I'm big on....fundamentals. I can cut off the ring, I can vary up my punches. Manny Pacquiao, he can't cut off the ring - as you've seen with Floyd and as you've seen with Algieri. When Chris Algieri got hurt [with Pacquaio], he was able to move and recover. When I had Chris Algieri hurt, I didn't allow him to do that," Spence explained.