Five Weekend Takes

With another weekend of boxing in the books we take a look at some of things that happened this weekend. Shawn Porter defeated Adrien Broner, Errol Spence shined, David Lemieux destroyed, Andre Ward returned, and Rances Barthelemy put his name on the scene. With so many fights leading to so many other implications here are my 5 major takes from this weekend and what we should see in the future:

1. Errol Spence Jr is the real deal, but let's take a step back

Spence Jr is widely considered the hottest prospect in boxing right now. I know he defeated a fighter that took the fight on three days notice but when you see a fighter show the type of skills that Spence does fight after fight you have to realize that something special resides in him. I'm ready to see him move up, however, when you start mentioning names like Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman I think you need to take a step back. He's not ready for those type of fights yet. Those guys are experienced professionals that bring styles that Spence Jr has even remotely seen yet as a pro. There are better fights out there for him to build up a name. Devon Alexander comes to mind, so does Andre Berto and Zab Judah. Let the kid build a couple more fights.

2. Maybe Adrien Broner just isn't that good

One thing I know for sure about Broner is that he can't deal with guys that bring pressure to him. When an old Paulie Malignaggi gives you problems, well then you have a problem. Porter dominated Broner. The only thing Broner did was hold, elbow, and push. He has no idea how to keep fighter's away from him, and counter them. Personally, he had no business being above 140 anyways. I still like his chances against someone like Danny Garcia but he needs to train hard. Broner doesn't take boxing seriously. Until he does he's not going to win big fights. He also needs a new trainer. His corner looked lost. I'm not even sure what should be next for Broner. The fight was disappointing.

3. Andre Ward didn't lose a step.

Super middleweight champion Andre Ward didn't lose a step in defeating Paul Smith. Then again, it was Paul Smith. Ward deserved a tune-up fight after a 19 month lay off. Now, it's time to get a big fight. Unless he can get James DeGale in the UK his only option is to move to 175. He has the likes of Jean Pascal, Sergey Kovalev, and others. Gennady Golovkin might move up to 168 for him but I doubt it right now. One thing is for sure, I don't want to see Ward in another tune-up. He can get some big fights and he should start looking for them right now.

4. Rances Barthelemy could be a 140 player

Al Haymon has another name to toss around at 140. Barthelemy looked good in defeating an overmatched Antonio Demarco. Though, Demarco looked like a shot fighter from the start. Haymon has a stable of guys at 140 that he could match Barthelemy with. Lamont Peterson comes to mind immediately. He called out Omar Figueroa after the fight. Sign us up for that all day.

5. Gennady Golovkin vs David Lemieux

David Lemieux destroyed Hassan N'Dam knocking him down four times in the fight. If there is one thing you can say about Lemieux it's that he brings fireworks every single time he steps into the ring. A fight against Gennady Golovkin should be next though Golden Boy didn't seem to keen on the idea after building up their Canadian star. Golokvin vs Lemieux would by dynamite. Make it happen.