Errol Spence Jr. says Bundu fight set for Aug. 21

Jun

Errol Spence Jr. is scheduled to return to action, against Leonard Bundu, on Aug. 21 on an NBC prime-time broadcast, the unbeaten welterweight announced this past Saturday night.

Spence made the announcement on the air while he was providing color commentary on an “PBC on NBC” broadcast along with Marv Albert and B.J. Flores at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill. The DeSoto, Texas resident also made an announcement late that night on social media.

The IBF originally ordered Spence to face fellow unbeaten welterweight Konstantin Ponomarev to become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Kell Brook. But Ponomarev reportedly injured his right hand during his unanimous decision win over Brad Solomon on Apr. 9.

Upon hearing the news of Ponomarev’s injury, the IBF ordered the next available contender to face Spence, which is Bundu (33-1-2, 12 knockouts) of Italy.

Spence (20-0, 17 KOs) is coming off an impressive fifth-round knockout win over Chris Algieri in his last fight on Apr. 16 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Should the fight follow through on Aug. 21, it will mark the third consecutive time Spence will have fought on NBC.

Brook is scheduled to face WBO welterweight titleholder Jessie Vargas in a unification fight on Sep. 3 in Sheffield, England.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing