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Errol Spence Jr.'s thrashing of Chris Algieri may have paved the way for a title shot in the near future. The IBF has ordered the former Olympian to face undefeated Konstantin Ponomarev in a welterweight eliminator to become Kell Brook's mandatory challenger.
Spence (20-0, 17 KO) looked absolutely monstrous against Algieri, picking up his seventh consecutive stoppage after five one-sided rounds. The win also marked his tenth fight in two years.
Ponomarev (30-0, 13 KO), whom our own Scott Christ ranked as one of the top five prospects in the welterweight division, hasn't had the same kind of fanfare, but has earned some solid wins. The 23-year-old was last seen handing Brad Solomon his first loss on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley III.
Too much, too soon for Ponomarev, or does he have a legitimate shot at ruining everything? I legitimately don't know, so I'm delegating the task of figuring it out to you guys. I expect quality reasoning.