Joey Spencer Earns Third “W” of the Year
Unsurprisingly, middleweight PBC fighter Joey “Small Town Soldier” Spencer (14-0, 10 KO’s) picked up his fourteenth professional victory. The Michigan native accomplished this by securing a fifth round knockout win over Limberth “El Gallito” Ponce (18-5, 11 KO’s). The win marked Spencer’s third of the year.
When he first hit the scene, there was a solid push behind Spencer to establish him as a serious up-and-coming star. Olympic gold medalist and two-division unified world champion Andre Ward put his stamp of approval on him. Since that time, there has not been much to write home about. Sure, Spencer clearly has skill and ability, but thus far in his fledgling career, not much has shown that he will truly separate himself from the pack.
This was the second bout of the year for Ponce. Although, prior to that previous dustup, the Mexican had been out of action for over two years. Coming in on such inactivity, there was not much expected from him.
PAINT BY THE NUMBERS
The bout began in your standard issue ‘feel-out’ fashion. Both men fought at range, giving proper respect to the other while probing behind jabs and body blows. Each landed a few solid shots but nothing of any real note or consequence. Spencer came forward and assumed the role of ring general. The Small Town Soldier was honing in on a nice left hook. In the second round, Spencer essentially dropped his jab in place of throwing a boatload of left hooks to the head and ribs. For his part, Ponce was almost exclusively looking to counter-punch.
By the third, Spencer was extremely comfortable in the ring and fighting at a more relaxed pace. He opened the period ripping hard, wide right hooks to the gut. Later, he made Ponce’s feet do a little dance with a right to the head. Yet, the shuffle was more due to being off balance than actually being seriously affected. In the first thirty seconds of the fifth however, the Small Town Soldier did clip and badly wobble El Gallito.
Yet, to his credit, he took shots well and remained on his feet. It was a short-lived win as Spencer would devastate El Gallito seconds later with a thumping left hook. Once again the Mexican maintained his feet, but this time he was seriously impaired. Spencer followed up with a straight right hand and left hook to finally put Ponce down. Once on the canvas, referee Eric Dali accurately called a halt to the action.
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By: Bakari Simpson
