Former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1, 15 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since taking a loss to Kell Brook in 2014. Porter will be facing 34-year old Roberto Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs) in a scheduled 10 round bout at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
Porter needs a decisive victory in this fight to stay in world title contention. It is improbable that Porter will earn a title shot if he defeats Garcia; even less if he wins by decision. Garcia has never been knocked out. In addition, Garcia has never had a legitimate world title shot unless if you count the IBA and the WBC International super welterweight titles.
Garcia’s first attempt ended in a no-contest after a clash of heads left Freddy Hernandez unable to continue, and he was annihilated by Antonio Margarito. Consider this fight as a tune-up for another possible tune-up for ‘Showtime.’
The fight is a compelling one regardless mainly because Garcia’s style has not been kind to Porter. Porter does not have the ability to stay on the outside and out-box Garcia, unless if Porter rectified his flaws over the past six months. If not, Porter will have to get inside and slug it out. What you cannot take way from Shawn Porter, is his passion and doggedness for the sport of boxing, exactly what he wants to extract from Roberto Garcia.
“We are excited. The whole team is here today, my dad, my cut man Mike Rodriguez, my track coach Larry Wade and we’re just trying to put it all together these last few weeks and make sure everything is fine and tuned 100 percent going into this fight, having fun working extremely hard and I am excited to get back into the ring,” a fired up Porter said to Tha Boxing Voice videographer Sean Zittel.
This training camp has been all about getting Porter back into being the vicious creature he was when he knocked out Paul Malignaggi to snag the IBF belt in April 2014. “We are at the point now where we know we’re coming up on our last few weeks. We got to get the most out of every training session, so today I’m asked to be a dog. I’m asked to be a dog every day,” said Porter. “We really put emphasis on coming in here and being 100 percent, trying to be as close to 100 percent as we can be, and getting the job done the right way. You see me working hard in there. I was trying to have a little bit of fun but still be poised and maintain what’s asked of me in the corner.”
Porter also wants to prove to the world that he can box and not just brawl.
“I think this is a great opponent to do that against. I think at this point in my career most people have seen a lot of what I have, but you are going to see a whole lot of it in this fight. You are going to see a lot of dog, but you are going to see a lot of finesse, calmness, and coolness in the ring, too,” Porter added. “I will be using my hand speed, the whole nine (yards), so we’re trying to put it together like that every fight and every fight calls for something different. This one calls for a special attention to defense, special attention to my quickness, and I think Team Porter will get it done.”
Porter is likely to win because he is more established in the sport than Roberto Garcia but is also likely to take a thrashing if he gets too precipitous against Garcia on the inside. As stated earlier, Garcia has never been knocked out, so Porter should not press for the KO unless ineluctable. As long as Porter stays busy and throws a lot of punches to offset Garcia’s offense, it should be an easy victory for Porter.
When asked if he was going to push for the knockout against Garcia, Porter was candid, yet confident that a KO was imminent.
“We’ll see. He’s a dog. I understand that. I acknowledge that, but I won’t allow that to stop me from doing what I want to do. The plan is to stop him; he’s never been knocked out before. We’re going after him,” Porter stated. “However we get it done is the way we are meant to get it done, and I have faith in God, I have faith in my team, and we’ll be just fine. I don’t know if it’s going to go 12, but if it doesn’t, it’s going to be spectacular.”
Before his first professional defeat to Brook, Porter was 24-0 with 15 knockouts, dominating Devon Alexander to claim the IBF welterweight title in December 2013. After his quick KO of Malignaggi, Porter’s name was tossed into the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes, but the loss to Brook certainly eliminated any hopes of Porter landing the dream fight.
Garcia has not lost since 2010, winning eight consecutive bouts. However, the opponents were nothing momentous. The biggest name out of those eight was Breidis Prescott. Prescott is recognized for his first-round KO of Amir Khan in 2008. However, Prescott has lost four of his last seven fights, including losses to Paul McCloskey, Mike Alvarado, and 2014 Fighter of the Year Terence Crawford.
