By Allan Fox: Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs) is really up against it this Saturday, June 20th, when he faces former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porte (25-1-1, 16 KOs) at a catch-weight of 144 pounds on NBC on Premier Boxing Champions at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight Broner-Porter fight card starts at 8:30 p.m. ET/ 5:30 p.m. PT.
Without the catch-weight, it would be really hard to give Broner a chance of winning the fight due to Porter being a guy that is capable of rehydrating a great deal to come into the fight with a significant weight advantage. But with Porter having to drain down to 144 to make weight, it’s going to be tough on him to make the weight because he just barely makes weight for the normal fights at welterweight at 147.
If Porter is able to take the weight off and put it back on without being weight drained, Broner could be in for a tough time on Saturday. It’s going to be really difficult for Broner to try and keep Porter off of him if he’s not weight drained from taking the weight off.
“I haven’t looked at this as a catch weight, but as a weight class,” Porter said. “My weight class is 144. Anything that he expects to gain from having me come down to 144, he’s not going to get it.”
Broner has really improved since his loss to Marcos Maidana in 2013. Broner has won his last three fights, and he’s starting to look like a more advanced fighter than the one that dominated in the lower weight classes at super featherweight and lightweight.
Broner is more defensive now, and he’s good at landing combinations and counter shots. His last fight against John Molina Jr. was an especially impressive one with Broner shutting down Molina’s offensive completely and not letting him get his shots off.
Some boxing fans thought it was kind of a dull fight because Broner chose not to brawl with Molina Jr., but Broner did what he had to do to get an easy victory without taking a lot of punishment like he had in his loss to Maidana. Broner wants to win his fights without having to take so much punishment.
In that respect he seems to be emulating Floyd Mayweather Jr., his mentor, who rarely gets hit unless he chooses to stand in the pocket against his opponents.
Porter lost his IBF 147lb title last year to England’s Kell Brook. Porter was held frequently by Brook and that kept him from getting his shots off. Porter now says he knows how to keep his opponents from clinching him all night long. He’s supposedly learned how to stop that kind of trick. It’s too bad that he didn’t know how to stop that ploy when he fought Brook last year because he might have won the fight if he was able to stop the holding that went on in that fight.
“I’ve learned a lot about how to not be held and how to get guys off of you,” Porter said. “That’s part of the process and it will be important in this fight.”
The card also has an interesting welterweight bout between Errol Spence and Roberto Garcia. Spence has a lot of talent and is being pegged already as a future world champion. He’ll be stepping up in class in facing the slugger Garcia, and this will give Spence a chance to show what he can do against a decent quality fighter.
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