PBC on NBC: Charlo, Spence Destroy Foes in Afternoon Action

Premier Boxing Champions returned to network television on Saturday afternoon and the day was filled with young contenders showcasing their immense talent and a new champion defending his title for the first time. Headlined by Jermall Charlo dispatching Wilky Campfort in the fourth, PBC on NBC was an entertaining affair.

Charlo (23-0, 18 KOs) was far too much for Campfort to handle and Wilky never stood a chance. The defending IBF junior middleweight champion stuck his jab in the challenger’s face throughout and whenever he landed anything hard, the Haitian-born Floridian couldn’t hold up.

Charlo dropped Campfort with a jab midway through the second and then again in the third courtesy of a right uppercut behind a left jab. Campfort was able to climb back to his feet and fight on, but once he was felled the second time, he became tentative and stayed almost exclusively in a defensive shell.

Charlo, fighting in front of his fellow Texan fans inside the Bomb Factory in Dallas, raked his foe with a left uppercut a minute into the fourth. Campfort (21-2, 12 KOs) took a knee to avoid more punishment but when he arose, he informed referee Mark Calo-Oy that he couldn’t see out of his right eye. Immediately, the veteran third man halted the action, officially ending the mugging at 1:16 of the fourth.

The co-featured bout saw surging contender Errol Spence Jr. take his time in breaking down tough veteran Alejandro Barrera en route to a fifth-round stoppage. Barrera (28-3, 18 KOs) had never been knocked out before and couldn’t withstand the precision punching and crushing power of the Desoto, Texas, native; he eventually crumbled in the fifth.

After rocking his foe to the head, Spence dug a pair of hooks to the body, sending Barrera to his knees in a corner. The Mexican was able to climb back to his feet, but once he did, Spence was all over him. Spence unloaded a blitzkrieg of punches to the head and body and when another wicked combo downstairs wrecked his resolve, Barrera motioned to referee Laurence Cole that he had taken enough before dropping to his knees again.

The TKO came officially at 1:46 of the fifth, allowing Spence to improve to 19-0 with his 16th knockout. Afterward, former Olympian Spence called out Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, stating that he is ready to take on the elite of the welterweight class.

Junior middleweight prospect Erickson Lubin dispatched the overmatched Alexis Camacho in the second with a sensational one-punch knockout. After dropping Camacho (21-6, 19 KOs) 25 seconds into the match with a sizzling right-left, Lubin (13-0, 10 KOs) flattened his foe with a perfect counter right hook in the second. Once the punch exploded, Camacho spun around and fell flat on his back. He was able to sit up, but he was eventually counted out just 42 seconds into the frame.

On the rest of the undercard, junior welterweight Eddie Ramirez (12-0, 8 KOs) dominated Bilal Mahasin (7-2-1, 1 KO) over eight rounds to win a unanimous decision via tallies of 77-75 (twice) and 78-74; and Ryan Karl (11-0, 8 KOs) took out Ken Alvarez (7-3-2, 3 KOs) at 2:45 of the sixth round after dropping him three times in the fight.