Fansided

Errol Spence Jr. tortures Lamont Peterson with Round 8 TKO

By Jeremy Herriges

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 20: Errol Spence punches Lamont Peterson during their IBF Welterweight title fight at the Barclays Center on January 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 20: Errol Spence punches Lamont Peterson during their IBF Welterweight title fight at the Barclays Center on January 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Errol Spence Jr. moved to the head of the welterweight pack with a punishing TKO victory over Lamont Peterson.

Lamont Peterson entered the Barclays Center in the best shape of his professional career. He was cut, well conditioned and showed a lot of heart. The truth is that this fight was over the second that it was signed on paper.

Errol Spence Jr. is a special fighter, and he showcased his talents on Showtime as he broke Peterson down round by round. Spence has a rare combination of ring intelligence, power and athleticism. Peterson is a good boxer, but he brought the equivalence of a knife to a gun fight against Spence.

Round 1 set the tone for the entire fight. Spence threw precise punches and never let up. Peterson covered his head in a high guard as Spence brutalized his body. Spence’s left hand can do it all. He threw crosses, hooks to the body and uppercuts that sliced through Peterson’s guard.

Nothing changed throughout the fight except that Peterson broke down over time. He tried valiantly to fight back and landed some solid punches against Spence, but to no effect. Spence ate Peterson’s punches and threw five for every one that Peterson landed.

In Round 5, Spence dropped Peterson with a thunderous left hook. Somehow, he managed to get back to his feet and survive the round. Most boxers couldn’t stand up to Spence’s onslaught, but Peterson found a way to last for two more rounds. He showed a lot of heart in the process.

Related Story: See how FanSided scored Spence vs. Peterson round by round

Between Rounds 6 and 7, Peterson’s trainer, Barry Hunter, questioned if he should stop the fight. He told Peterson that he didn’t like what he was seeing, but Peterson reassured him that he was fine,even though he obviously wasn’t. That’s what a true fighter does. He believes he’s in the fight even when he’s not.

Peterson ran for most of Round 7 but continued to take a beating. After the round in his corner, Peterson insisted that he could continue, but Hunter couldn’t let his fighter take that sort of punishment. Hunter knew that Peterson was done, and he did the right thing for his fighter. It was touching and emotional to watch. You could see how much Hunter loved and respected Peterson. Hunter saved Peterson from himself.

Next: Robert Easter Jr. wins via UD over Fortuna

Spence is the real deal. He doesn’t have the one-punch power of a Lucas Matthysse, but he destroys his opponents with a punching output that is superhuman and surgically precise. Spence vaulted himself to the head of the welterweight class — except for Terence Crawford.

A matchup between Spence and Crawford might be the most desirable in the sport of boxing. They probably won’t meet for a while, but Spence proved that he belongs among boxing’s best.

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