Spence, Colon Big KO Winners; Ruddock Drilled In Three
Sep 11, 2015 • 9:51 AM ET
By Cliff Rold
25-year old 2012 US Olympian Errol Spence Jr. (18-0, 15 KO), 146 ½, of Dallas, Texas, continued his steady rise in the Welterweight division, scoring two knockdowns in the seventh and a standing stoppage in round eight of 28-year old South African Chris Van Heerden (23-2-1, 12 KO), 146 ½, of Santa Monica, California. It was the first knockdowns, and first stoppage loss, of Van Heerden’s career. Spence entered the bout rated eighth by the IBF.
The referee was Allan Huggins.
Spence got off to a solid start in the battle of southpaws, establishing his jab and working in combination to the head and body. The South African fired back but lacked enough power to force Spence’s respect and began to swell around the eyes early. Van Heerden lost a point in the fourth for excessive loss of the mouthpiece and the steady drumbeat of Spence leather continued.
Spence dropped Van Heerden in the seventh with a left behind the ear and then again with a perfect left to the belly. Van Heerden beat both counts but had no answers. At the start of the eighth, Spence pounced for the finish. Trapping Van Heerden on the ropes, Spence whacked away with body and head shots until Huggins jumped in to stop it at :50 of round eight.
Spence was all smiles for the televised post-fight interview. “I wanted to have a spectacular one-sided performance and I think I did that. I want the big fights. I want the big names. This is what I gotta’ do.” Asked who he wants next, Spence said he wanted anybody in the top ten.
The top ten has been warned.
UNDERCARD
In a swing bout, 22-year old Jr. Middleweight Prichard Colon (16-0, 13 KO), 149, of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, stopped long faded 37-year old former WBA 140 lb. titlist Vivian Harris (32-11-2, 19 KO), 149, of Brooklyn, New York, at 1:03 of the fourth round.
It was the ninth stoppage loss in the career of Harris who is 3-8-1 in his last twelve bouts.
The referee was Dave Dunbar.
In non-televised action, the sad comeback of 51-year old Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock will hopefully come to a close following a 3rd round knockout loss to Dillon Carman. Ruddock was dropped twice in round three, the latter of the two putting him down for the full 10-count.
The card was broadcast in the US on Spike TV as part of the Premiere Boxing Champions (PBC) series.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
