For 12 rounds, Shawn Porter (26-1, 16 KOs) battled not only his opponent, but all the illegal holding and pushing that Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs) brought into the ring with him tonight. Porter’s game plan seemed to be simple, but it was keeping the composure to execute that game plan, that was the victory within itself.
Porter applied pressure in moments when he was able to catch Broner, who was constantly on the move. When we did see the two fighters exchange, Porter landed some of his punches and Broner retreated to holding. The holding and pushing got so excessive that it sent the crowd into boos. However, referee Tony Weeks didn’t take a point away until the 11th round.
When Porter could have been extremely frustrated, he remained composed and stuck to the strategy he and his father, Kenny, set forth. Even if Porter couldn’t land most of his shots, he remained consistent. The aggression and pressure gave Broner more problems than he imagined, even though he countered in moments and landed some clean shots on Porter.
For the final round, both men came out guns blazing and Porter was left open to catch a strong left hook from Broner, that sent him to the canvas.
Porter got up before the 10 count ended and wasn’t shy to continue the exchange with Broner. Fans were on their feet and chanting “Porter, Porter,” as they were finally watching both fighters exchange and Broner no longer on the run.
Judge’s score cards read 118-108, 114-112 and 115-111 for “Showtime” Shawn Porter, who more than deserved the victory for a hard-fought fight.
Errol Spence Jr. (17-0, 14 KOs) defeated Phil Lo Greco (26-2, 14 KOs) in dominant fashion, stopping him in Round 3 by TKO.
Spence took the first round to feel out Lo Greco, and Lo Greco used his size to his advantage to push Spence around. In Round 2, Spence stepped on the gas and landed hard body shots to slow down Lo Greco, and from there you could see it was only a matter of time.
In Round 3, Spence came out confident and continued his attack to the body, which left an opening for Spence to land a strong right to the temple of Lo Greco. Lo Greco survived the 10 count but never regained his legs underneath him.
Lo Greco stumbled around catching everything from Spence Jr. until the ref waved off the fight at 1:50 into Round 3.
Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. remains undefeated and hopes to fight again in September against Keith Thurman.
Photos by Steve Marcus/Getty Images
