Three Punch Combo: Introducing Tyrone Spong, an Under the Radar Fight and More

THREE PUNCH COMBO — After 11 months out of the ring, former unified cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KO’s) makes his long-anticipated heavyweight debut on Saturday when he faces Tyrone Spong (14-0, 13 KO’s) in the main event of a DAZN card at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. While Usyk is a known commodity in the sport, the same cannot be said of Spong. So, who is he and does he pose any threat to Usyk?

Spong, 34, was born in Suriname and grew up in the Netherlands. Beginning in the early 2000’s, he competed as a professional kickboxer, winning many big fights and titles along the way. In the midst of this successful kickboxing career, Spong (pictured) even dabbled a little in mixed martial arts and won a pair of bouts in that sport. In 2015, he turned to boxing.

Customarily carrying 225-230 pounds on a six-foot-two frame, Spong opened his pro boxing career with 12 straight knockouts. However, the level of competition he has faced has been very suspect. Perhaps his “best” win was this past August when he stopped 14-1-1 Jeyson Minda in the second round. Though Minda had a glossy record himself, most of his wins had also come against low-level opponents and in the middleweight division.

Spong, who fights from the orthodox stance, likes to come forward and press the action. He will sometimes work behind the left jab but often times attempts to simply walk down his opponent without firing off the jab. That jab is somewhat lazy and often times used by Spong as a range finder rather than being a punch he is trying to land. It is also a punch that can be easily timed by his opposition.

So, the big question is whether Spong’s punching power is real? From the clips I have seen on YouTube, my guess would be that although he does have fairly heavy hands, the knockouts are more a result of the opponents selected than anything else.

Defensively, Spong is actually pretty solid. When he comes forward, he displays good head movement and tends to keep his hands held high. He has also shown some slickness in being able to slip his opponent’s punches.

My best guess is that assuming he has any sort of chin (which I would think he would have, given his long background in kickboxing) we see him at the very least go rounds with Usyk. But I just don’t think Spong has the power to get Usyk’s respect. And, of course, Usyk has the far superior boxing skills.

Ultimately, this could be a replay of Usyk’s lopsided win last year over Murat Gassiev.

Under The Radar Fight

On the Usyk-Spong undercard, 24-year-old, 168-pound prospect Anthony Sims Jr. (19-0, 17 KO’s) looks to continue his way up the ladder when he faces Morgan Fitch (19-3-1, 8 KO’s). This is an interesting spot for the highly-regarded Sims who will be looking to make a statement following a somewhat lackluster performance in his last outing this past April.

A decorated U.S. amateur, Sims turned pro in 2014. In the early portion of his career, he scored highlight reel knockout after highlight reel knockout that had many buzzing about his potential. And many were anxious to see how Sims would look when he ultimately took a step up in class.

As his career moved forward, the quality of opposition seemingly did not improve from what he had faced in his first few pro contests. Some began wondering why he was being moved so slowly, especially given his amateur background.

Finally, in April of this year in his 19^th pro fight, Sims took a jump in class when he stepped in the ring against then 14-2 Vaughn Alexander. In this fight, Alexander was not overwhelmed as were others by Sims’ power and he pushed Sims hard for ten rounds. Though Sims ultimately got the verdict on the scorecards, it was an underwhelming performance to say the least.

Fitch represents an interesting test for Sims. Fitch is athletic and possesses good hand speed. He fights as a natural boxer-puncher looking to land combinations behind the left jab. And defensively, he shows good movement and often keeps a nice tight guard making him difficult to hit clean.

Though Fitch has plenty of natural talent, he has yet to show it when he has stepped up in class. His issue has been that he tends to get too defensive and gets out-hustled. And, as his record indicates, he is not a big puncher, so if he falls behind, he does not have the eraser to get back into the fight.

Coming off the Alexander performance, Sims is certainly going to try to make a statement against Fitch. But Fitch is no pushover. I like this fight and will be very interested to see how it plays out.

What Is Next for Sergiy Derevyanchenko?

There will certainly be plenty of talk about Gennady Golovkin’s future following his hard-fought 12- round unanimous decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko this past Saturday. But what about Derevyanchenko’s future following his second close loss in less than a year vying for a middleweight title belt?

First, all the talk will be about a rematch with Golovkin. But that seems unlikely. Keep in mind that Derevyanchenko is still associated with PBC, Golovkin is aligned with DAZN, and their fight was a sanctioning body mandate. If Golovkin is going to face another high-risk opponent other than Canelo, it will probably be someone who is also affiliated with DAZN such as Demetrius Andrade.

As for other realistic options, Derevyanchenko is in a quandary. The Charlo brothers are also aligned with PBC and a fight between either one and Derevyanchenko would produce a massive payday, but he would represent quite a risk and I’m guessing both steer clear of him for the time being.

One possibility could be Brandon Adams (21-3, 13 KO’s). Adams has some name value having won the Contender series last year and is coming off a better than expected performance in losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Jermall Charlo in June in a bid for a middleweight title belt. Such a fight would push the winner right back into title contention at middleweight.

Derevyanchenko could also decide the time is right to move to 168. PBC has more options for him at 168 so this could be the direction he is headed.

If Derevyanchenko does move to 168, my guess would be that PBC looks to match him with Caleb Truax (30-4-2, 19 KO’s). Truax is rated number five by the IBF in that division and the winner would almost certainly be vaulted into a mandatory position. And if a fight between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant does occur early next year, the winner of Derevyanchenko-Truax would make for a natural opponent for the winner of that fight.

I am sure Derevyanchenko would love a rematch with Golovkin and I would love to see it, but that possibility seems remote as do Derevyanchenko’s chances of luring another big name into the ring with him anytime soon. So instead he will probably be forced into a high-stakes crossroads fight as a means of hopefully earning another title shot down the road.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel  

To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE