Errol Spence Jr. continues to show dominance by dismantling Lamont Peterson

courtesy of: Showtime/AMANDA WESCOTT

Brooklyn, New York — Towards the end of the second round, Errol Spence Jr. could hardly contain himself. He smiled. The IBF welterweight world champion was in his element, punching in a comfortable, rhythmic flow. This was everything, you could tell, that Spence wanted and expected from Lamont Peterson.

It brought out his best.

Spence Jr., deep down, knew something else, too. Pretty much the same thing that the 12,107 fans knew that packed the Barclays Center Saturday night on the Showtime-televised card: He was better, regardless of anything Peterson tried.

Calculating, measured, calm and supremely confident, showing some improved footwork, Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) took apart a very good—and very brave—Peterson, whose cornerman, Barry Hunter, wisely stopped the fight at :01 of the eighth round. It was the second time Peterson (35-4-1, 17 KOs) had been stopped in his career, and the victory extended Spence’s knockout streak to 10 straight.

By the fifth round, Peterson’s right eye was swollen shut as he suffered a knockdown, thanks to a classic Spence left hook that caught the former two-division titleholder on the temple. Spence’s punches landed with that hard thud only special fighters possess. By the eighth, both of Peterson’s eyes were swollen.

As he was throughout the whole promotion, Spence was very respectful of Peterson.

“I want to thank Lamont,” Spence said. “A lot of guys turned down the fight and he took it like a real warrior and I commend him for that. My coach [Derrick James] came with a great game plan and I just followed through with it. Keep my range, keep my composure.

“I know Lamont—he’s a tough fighter. He’s willing to die in there. You saw his coach had to stop the fight because he wanted to keep fighting.

“I still can improve a lot on my defense. I just have to keep perfecting my skills and keep progressing. You’d going to see a better Errol Spence next time I get in the ring. Everybody knows I’ve been waiting on (Keith) ‘Sometimes’ Thurman. Since I was 15-0, I’ve been calling this guy out and he keeps making excuses. Let’s get it on.

Hunter, who looks at Peterson like a son, wasn’t about to see him take any more punishment.

“It was really hard, but if you know Lamont, you know he was not going to give up,” Hunter said. “So I had to stop it. At the end of the day this is my son right here. And there’s nothing more valuable than his well-being. If it comes to him or winning, I pick him. I care about him.”

 “ Everybody knows I’ve been waiting on (Keith) ‘Sometimes’ Thurman. Since I was 15-0, I’ve been calling this guy out and he keeps making excuses. Let’s get it on.  ”IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr.

One telling stat that said everything about this fight: Spence landed more punches than Peterson threw, connecting on 161 shots, while Peterson was able to get off 158 punches.

courtesy of: Showtime/AMANDA WESCOTT

The fourth round saw Spence display some nifty foot movement, turning Peterson. In the fifth, Spence dropped Peterson, and the stopwatch began. Before the seventh, Peterson’s corner took a long look at his right eye. It’s already hell to fight Spence with two eyes, but trying to defend him with the use of only one?

“He was getting the shots on me early. He was the better man tonight,” Peterson said. “I always respect Barry’s decision. If he asks me to fight a million people, I will. If he asks me to stop. I will stop. I will never question his decision. I know he has my best interests at heart.

On retiring, the Washington D.C. native said, “That’s something that I would have to think about in the next few weeks.”

The result came as a little shock to Spence.

“I didn't know I would dominate like that,” he said. “I expected to get the knockout, but this was a great performance. We were facing a great fighter like Lamont Peterson and we did well in there. I could tell Lamont was wobbling before I got him down. It was just a great feeling to put on a strong performance.

“I want Keith Thurman. He has two of the belts and we both have big names. It's an easy fight to make and I want it.”

SOURCE: PREMIERE BOXING CHAMPIONS