One of the biggest fights left on the boxing calendar will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on September 28, 2019.
WBC Welterweight belt holder Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. (25-0, 21 KOs) are going to lock horns, with the winner leaving with two titles around their waist. With the clock speeding up towards their showdown, they both took some time to address how they can envision this contest playing out in a recent media conference call.
When taking a look at the resume of Porter, he has always fought the best competition. In a day and age where fighters aren’t too keen on taking risk anymore, Porter is the opposite. He is looking forward to fighting Spence, but more than anything he is looking forward to the end result.
“It’s how I grew up. It’s how my dad raised me and it’s where I come from,” said Porter. “We were never allowed to shy away from any challenge and that’s the way I’ve lived my life. So when it comes to taking on Errol Spence, to me it’s like taking on any other fighter. It’s not like taking on, as everyone has coined him, the boogeyman or the best welterweight in the world. To me I’m taking on another great, exciting fighter and I’m going to beat that great, exciting fighter.”
There has been a bunch of chatter regarding the size difference between Spence and Porter. For the reigning WBC champion, he has plenty of experience in terms of fighting bigger men. In fact, Spence won’t nearly be the biggest fighter he has ever shared the ring with.
“I think fighting 165 pounds is no secret that the majority of the guys that I fought as an amateur were a lot bigger than Errol Spence,” said Porter. “Not just bigger than Errol, they were a lot bigger than Errol Spence and I’m talking about guys like Daniel Jacobs, who fights at 160 pounds, 168 pounds now. I fought against Aleksandr Usyk, who is unified champion over there in the Ukraine, a Heavyweight now. I fought him at 165 pounds back in the day when we were about 20 years old and beat him.”
Not only did he face bigger fighters as an amateur, he also beat them. Porter has an impressive amateur resume against fighters who are elite in the pro ranks.
“I have wins against Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade,” said Porter. “Me and Andrade were one and one in the amateur division. The last time that we fought we were 165 pounds and I beat him to go to a tournament as the amateur. The experience is there. The experience against taller, bigger opponents is there.”
With the winner of this contest becoming the only Welterweight with two world titles in the division, it would leave that fighter with the best claim as the top Welterweight in the world. Something Porter wholeheartedly agrees with.
“I think that myself and Errol Spence, are the number one and number two guys,” said Porter. “You call who you want to be number one and number two but the best part about it is one is about to fight two and one is about to get eliminated. I think that after I beat Errol Spence, especially the way I beat Errol Spence, I think that this will see me as the number one guy in the division.”
From Spence’s perspective, the word dirty fighter has been thrown around in the direction of Porter. Spence believes that it is true, but only when Porter has a certain advantage.
“I’m not really worried about it,” said Spence. “I think a lot of times, when he fights stronger, he isn’t dirty like that. Danny Garcia, he wasn’t dirty like that. I think he does that to fighters he can just push around. I’m not really concerned with his dirty tactics.”
With both fighters looking to hold on to their titles, while making a name for themselves in the division, this fight is shaping up to be one of the very best of the year.
“I can’t wait. I’m in great shape,” said Spence. “Shawn Porter, he comes to fight. And like I said, I’m looking for the knock out. So it might be Fight of the Year if he can withstand my punches for all 12 rounds.”
