Errol Spence Jr stops Lamont Peterson at start of eighth round to defend IBF welterweight title

Peterson emerged from his corner for the eighth round only to have the referee wave off the fight

Errol Spence Jr beat Lamont Peterson with an eighth round stoppage (AP)

Errol Spence Jr easily defended his welterweight title for the first time on Saturday night, beating Lamont Peterson when the fight was stopped just after the bell sounded to begin the eighth round.

Spence had dominated the fight and both of Peterson's eyes appeared swollen as doctors checked him after the seventh round. The bell rang to start the eighth, and Peterson moved toward the centre of the ring when the referee called it a second into the round.

Spence (23-0, 19-0 KOs) dominated in his first attempt defending the IBF 147-pound crown he won last May when he went to Sheffield, England, and stopped Kell Brook in his hometown, breaking the champion's orbital bone and knocking him down in the 10th round before Brook went to a knee in the 11th and the fight was stopped.

He knocked Peterson (35-4-1) down in the fifth and hurt him in many other rounds, ripping punches into his ribs to set up hard shots to the head.

AP