This Saturday night from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Shawn Porter and Adrien Broner will face each other in one of the highest anticipated Premier Boxing Champions cards to date. “The Battle for Ohio” will take place in Vegas, but the winner will be sure to take their bragging rights all the way home.
Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs) is one of the biggest names in boxing, but quite possibly the biggest villain as well. Broner’s personality outshines his true talent in the ring, and his ego makes no room for boxing fans to hop on board.
But what keeps people intrigued with Broner?
When dedicated and focused, Broner is a hell of a fighter. He’s fast and his style of fighting is starting to mimic his mentor, Floyd Mayweather Jr. While no one can fully duplicate the Mayweather style, Broner has adapted his own way of being defensive and landing hard-hitting combinations. Broner’s last fight with John Molina Jr. was an impressive victory, as we saw Broner take very little punishment and leave Molina stunned and never able to take off.
A matchup involving Broner guarantees controversy. We all should know by now that no one should hand Broner a microphone for a post-fight interview as he tends to say the wrong things, but already the pot has been stirred with the catch weight of this fight being at 144 pounds. Shawn Porter had plenty to say about the animosity that’s building because of this issue, and when we were expecting a response from Broner, he was nowhere to be found.
Shawn Porter (25-1, 16 KOs) has slightly less experience than Broner, but his resume is stacked. With only 27 fights, Porter has faced and won against the names of Paul Malignaggi, Alfonso Gomez and Devon Alexander. His only loss was against Kell Brook last August by majority decision.
Porter has speed and consistency. He’s aggressive and has power behind both hands. You usually see Porter being the bigger man in the ring, as he campaigns at 147 pounds and can easily rehydrate back up to 160-165 pounds on fight night.
While it was unclear by Porter, and his father/trainer Kenny Porter, what the maximum weight was for this fight, Leonard Ellerbe made it clear the fight is being contested at a max of 144 pounds. There was no mention of a plus-one rule since this is not a championship fight, and something Broner needed personally when he weighed in a pound over the limit against Molina.
Porter made it clear during Monday’s conference call that there hasn’t been any issues with Broner in the build up to this fight until the final press conference when the catch weight issue was brought up. Along with the catch weight, allegedly there is also a clause stating Porter is not allowed to rehydrate to more than 154 pounds on fight night.
“Here we are doing everything we need to do as professionals to be on weight. Be on point. Be 100 percent, and the kid who chose to make the contracted weight wishes to not talk about the contracted weight or the rehydration clause. You want to move up in weight, then move up. Don’t be scared, don’t be worried. Don’t be afraid. Put your skill on the line, along with your record. Put it all on the line at 147, not at 144. Then not want to talk about it,” said Porter.
Broner did not call in to participate in Monday’s conference call, but he promises he will be the winner on Saturday night, and also the prettiest. Porter mentions he’s not affected by Broner’s personality and ego, and that he will remain professional.
No matter the circus that comes with a Broner fight, styles make fights, and this fight is well matched up. Both men have speed and both apply pressure in the right moments. Porter can be overwhelming and aggressive, and if a flat footed Broner shows up Saturday night, the pressure will eventually break him down like it did against Marcos Maidana.
If Broner plans to have an easy night on Saturday, he’ll stay defensive and make it difficult for Porter, while landing good counters in between. The tension is starting to rise and the weight is already the topic of conversation–Saturday night should be pretty interesting, with the winner taking their victory back to Ohio.
