Sunday 17 April 2016 10:36, UK
Errol Spence Jr announced his arrival in big-time American boxing by blowing Chris Algieri away in five furious rounds.
The welterweight prospect had his man down three times before doing what neither Manny Pacquiao nor Amir Khan managed - stop the New Yorker.
Spence, who in the build-up told Sky Sports he would love to fight IBF world champion Kell Brook, topped the bill at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and had Algieri down three times before he moved to 20-0-KO17.
The 26-year-old southpaw opened up with a ramrod jab, then gave Algieri a glimpse of what was to come with a vicious right in the second and that lethal left hook landed soon after.
Then in the fourth, a perfectly-timed left put Algieri down, catching him flush on the temple as he tried to back out of trouble. The experienced former world champion made it up but a five-punch flourish had him in all sorts of trouble.
To his credit, Algieri didn't shirk and shoved Spence over before the bell but he paid the price in the fifth.
Another left hook put him down again and seconds after he'd got to his feet, he was up against the ropes where 'The Truth' did not swarm all over him, but kept his range and landed more hard-hitting shots before another left put him back down.
The referee had no option but to step in and save him from more punishment in a fast, furious and fluent performance that showed just why America is pinning its hopes on its newest welterweight star.
'Sir' Marcus Brown (18-0-KO13) won the battle of unbeaten light-heavyweights but was fortunate to get a split decision against Radivoje Kalajdzic (21-1-KO14).
Like Spence, the American had boxed in the 2012 Olympics and his chief support appearance got off to a great start when he floored his Bosnian-Herzegovina-born in the first.
But it went downhill from there as Brown was continually warned for holding and in the sixth was on the canvas himself. He escaped with a slip before the final eighth round, before he was given the nod by the judges.
Poland's WBO world cruiserweight champion, Krzysztof Glowacki, kept hold of his title, surely ending Steve Cunningham's chances of becoming a three-time winner.
Undefeated Glowacki (26-0-KO16) looked to make light work of his first defence, flooring the 'USS' twice in the second round, once in the 10th and again in the final round, less than 20 seconds from the end.
Former IBF holder Cunningham (28-8-1-KO13) made it up in time but has now lost six out of his last 10 fights, started by back-to-back title defeats by Yoan Pablo Hernandez back in 2011-12.
