By Chris Robinson
2012 U.S. Olympian and present-day welterweight/junior middleweight prospect Errol Spence Jr. (6-0, 5 KO’s) saw his name thrust into the spotlight this past April when it was revealed that he had temporarily relocated to Las Vegas to serve as a sparring partner for Floyd Mayweather ahead of his dominant victory over Robert Guerrero.
Having gone chest to chest with Mayweather for some lively sessions, Spence knows all too well of all the tricks and guile that the 36-year old future Hall-of-Famer possesses and he has little doubt that Floyd will find a way to emerge victorious in his next assignment, a September 14th clash with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the MGM Grand.
“I think Floyd is going to outpoint him,” Spence told me recently. “I think Floyd is too quick for him, too smart, too fast. I don’t think Canelo has a high enough work rate. I just think he’s going to outpoint him.”
When asked how familiar he is with the 22-year old champion from Jalisco, Mexico, Spence recalled Alvarez's bouts with Matthew Hatton, Austin Trout, and Josesito Lopez, and despite offering some respect, he also pointed towards some glaring weaknesses that he sees.
“He’s very fundamentally sound,” Spence, a native of Dallas, Tex., said of Alvarez. “He has a good jab. He’s a good body puncher. I see he’s starting to move his head a lot. But I think he’s kind of heavy-footed. I don’t really think he has fought anybody who can box him. Austin Trout wasn’t really throwing punches like that.
“Another thing,” Spence added. “He’s really wide with his punches. I don’t think he’s going to hit Floyd with those real wide punches like that. He loads up with everything punch. I don’t think he’s going to catch Floyd with them lunging punches.”
Spence is next scheduled to see action on July 27th in San Antonio, Texas on the Andre Berto-Jesus Soto Karass undercard and he is hopeful of getting some exposure on Showtime Extreme.
