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Errol Spence Jr. stops Philip Lo Greco in three

Fighters Network
20
Jun

A lot of people believe Errol Spence Jr. will be the next big thing. And when the 25-year-old made his network television debut on Saturday, he demonstrated why.

The 2012 Olympian took out late replacement Philip Lo Greco in the third round of a scheduled 10-round welterweight fight on the Adrien Broner-Shawn Porter card in Las Vegas, which was televised on NBC.

Spence (17-0, 14 knockouts) originally was scheduled to face Roberto Garcia but Garcia failed to show up for Wednesday’s media workout and was later pulled due to “personal reasons” that pointed at him being unable to make weight.

Lo Greco (26-2, 14 KOs) answered the call but paid dearly for his decision as the Texan punished the Canadian with a wicked assortment of hooks and uppercuts behind a scintillating straight left.



Lo Greco came out aggressively and did his best to catch Spence cold but the best shots he landed came via a clash of heads. Nevertheless, the activity prompted all three judges to score the first frame in favor of Lo Greco. Spence let his hands go in the second round. And try as he might, Lo Greco simply couldn’t get out of the way of Spence’s barrage. Every shot, it seemed, was thrown with precision and power.

One sequence saw Spence pound his game, but overmatched foe with several body shots that sent Lo Greco’s hands to his waist and left his head wide open for a hard uppercut that nearly him.

The third round was more of the same as Spence smelled the blood in the water and went in for the kill. A right hook to the temple sent Lo Greco sprawling to the canvas and a bevy of power shots soon after that forced referee Robert Byrd to call a halt to the bout at the 1:50 mark.

“He’s a tough fighter and I got hit with a few headbutts that threw me off but I came on strong in the second and third rounds,” Spence said afterward.

And come on strong he did. Spence landed an eyebrow-raising 51 percent of his punches (73 out of 142) and 65 percent of his power shots (60 out of 93).

“Hopefully a few 147-pounders took notice and I can get back in the ring in September,” Spence said in hopes of landing a bout on Mayweather’s next card, which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 12. And with Mayweather already suggesting that Spence Jr. should face Keith Thurman next, it’s likely that Spence’s next fight will be a major step up in competition.

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