Shawn Porter training hard during the lockdown

By Boxing News - 05/03/2020 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Shawn Porter putting in the hard work staying ready for his next fight. The former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) is waiting for boxing to be given the green light to begin, which is expected to happen in mid to late summer.

‘Showtime’ Shawn needs to be in tip-top shape for him to be ready to return to the ring.

Porter, 32, wants to get a fight against Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford, Danny Garcia, or Keith Thurman. The fact that Porter lost his last bout against Errol Spence Jr. will make it tough for him to get any of the top 147-pound fighters to face him right away.

Porter is the type of fighter that you won’t want to face when you’re coming off of a long layoff. He gave Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) a world of difficulties last September at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Porter has called out WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford lately, but his promoter Bob Arum reportedly is cool to the idea of a fight between them. It’s a fight that would require both a live audience and a pay-per-view to make it possible.

Crawford doesn’t want to fight without spectators. Secondly, the timing is terrible for a Crawford vs. Porter fight on pay-per-view. A lot of boxing fans are out of work, and Porter is coming off of a loss to Spence.

Image: Shawn Porter training hard during the lockdown

Porter pleased with his efforts against Spence

“Ain’t nobody go at him the way I went at him, and you all just saw it,” said Porter on his fight with Spence. “I wanted to hand this man his first O. We were both going after Manny [Pacquiao]. I hope he still considers me. I think that would be a fantastic fight for me and the world.”

Porter says he would like a second chance at fighting Spence, but he’s going to need to wait in line for that to happen. Spence has four guys – Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford, and Keith Thurman – that he wants to take care of before takes on Porter again.

Porter will need to beat the best available contender in the 147-pound division to stay active to eventually get a fight against one of the popular welterweights.

These would be some good options for Porter:

  • Yordenis Ugas
  • Ivan Redkach
  • Vergil Ortiz Jr
  • Sergey Lipinets
  • Kell Brook
  • Amir Khan
  • Egidijus Kavaliauskas
  • Josh Kelly
  • David Avanesyan

Porter needs to quiet the critics by facing Ugas in a rematch to show that he can beat him without controversy. Last year, Porter beat Ugas by a controversial 12 round unanimous decision that boxing fans are still saying was a terrible robbery. Ugas said this week that he wants the rematch with Porter. It’s a doable fight for Porter if he’s willing to take the risk of facing the talented Cuban fighter Ugas a second time.

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Thurman brags about beating Porter more decisively than Spence

“A split decision is a good decision, but I still had the margins higher than that,” said Keith Thurman to Fighthype on the Spence vs. Porter results.

“I think I beat Shawn in a cleaner fashion. My judges agreed.

“We’ve all been waiting for this moment just to say, ‘Hey, it wasn’t that easy.’ Congratulations to him.’ I know the feeling to unify. It’s tremendous.

“This was a great job and a great fight. It rivals Pacquiao and me. I was saying that what they needed to do, and they did it. I’m truly impressed with the performances of both fighters.

“I feel that Shawn Porter gets more respect in the welterweight division, and I still feel that with us being young, strong, and hungry, it’s still anybody’s division,” said Thurman.