Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime

Those who believe Errol Spence Jr. is the sport’s next star will get a chance to evaluate him against a former titleholder. Spence will take the next step in his development when he faces Chris Algieri on April 16 at Barclays Center in a PBC on NBC primetime tripleheader (8:30 p.m. ET), it was formally announced on Tuesday.

Also on the card is cruiserweight titleholder Krzysztof Glowacki (25-0, 16 knockouts) taking on former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs) in his first title defense and U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne (17-0, 13 KOs) in a step-up light heavyweight bout against fellow unbeaten Radivoje Kalajdzic (21-0, 14 KOs).

“This is a huge opportunity for me, to be this young and early in my career and headlining a primetime event, just the exposure alone,” Spence (19-0, 16 knockouts) said in a press release. “Chris Algieri has been in the ring with Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov and he’s a former world champ. This is a big fight for me and a step up, but I plan to rise to the occasion. I’m going to handle him like I’ve handled all of my past opponents.”

Algieri won the WBO strap at 140 pounds with a split decision over Provodnikov in June 2014, then lost it to Pacquiao five months later.

Glowacki won his title in sensational fashion in August, stopping Marco Huck in the 11^th round in a big upset. “I am so excited to come back to the U.S. for a major fight,” said Glowacki. “I respect Steve Cunningham as a sportsman and as a man. He is a world class fighter and I know that he will be well prepared against me.”

Browne has been waiting for this chance to prove he’s worthy of the hype that has accompanied his career, which has been littered with glimpses of vast potential against mostly ordinary opposition.

“I’m ready to take this step up in my career,” Browne said in the release. “We are both putting our ‘0’s on the line and do what I’ve been taught to do. This is the perfect time for this opportunity in my career and there is no better place than to do it at Barclays Center. To be able to win and make a statement on primetime TV from Barclays Center where it all really started for me will be a turning point and I can’t wait.”

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