IBF welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter seems to always have a smile on his face these days. Porter’s exuberant character in and outside of the ring makes him one of the most exciting young champions anywhere in boxing. Porter took a moment to talk to Thaboxingvoice.com about his upcoming fight with mandatory challenger, Kell Brook.
Coming off of two bang-up performances, Porter is as excited as ever to get back into the ring. Porter seems unfazed by the problematic negotiations surrounding this fight. “I’m not nervous that he’s not going to make this fight. I’m very dedicated to this sport”, explains Porter, who has dominated his last two opponents. In the past, injuries and travel issues have kept Brook from fighting outside of the UK, but Porter knows exactly how Brook must feel “Like I had my opportunity to fight back in December to get a world championship belt, I don’t see how anybody could pass up an opportunity like that.” Porter is characteristically confident in declaring that he will fight on August 16th, even if they have to fly in a new opponent.
With such a willing and talented young boxer as Porter, the options for future matchups seem endless. As an undefeated fighter and emerging champion, the boxing world’s imagination is already hard at work dreaming up possible title unifications. Porter acknowledges that a fight with Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather jr. would be “A dream come true”, and that now, as a champion there is an opportunity for him to unify titles. Porter speaks like he is anxious to clear out his division, despite it being home to the stiffest competition in boxing.
We asked Porter about his rise to the elite level of boxing, when nobody outside of his own camp ever gave him a chance. “[The critics] didn’t mean as much to me as having an opportunity to fight for a world championship… I literally took it from him”, says Porter, whose cheeky smile turns into a cold stare. As a former golden gloves champ and a Pacquiao sparring partner, Porter is all business in the ring, and all smiles in our interview. He seems to be enjoying his training and sparring in big bear, with the likes of Porter’s long-time friend and super flyweight titlist, Bruno Escalante.
Porter seems rightly pleased with his accomplishments in the ring thus far, and he projects that confidence in and out of the ring. Fans on both sides of the pond are anxiously awaiting his fight with the 32-0 Brook, as well as other possible future tests. As an Al Haymon fighter, Porter has a long list of interesting match ups that can be made within the welterweight division and undoubtedly a long and interesting career ahead of him.
