Shawn Porter’s stock is as high as it has ever been following his unanimous decision win over Adrien Broner. We knew what was at stake for both fighters heading into the matchup.
For Broner, it was a chance to legitimize himself by beating a real opponent with a strong reputation, and possibly allowing his reputation as a fighter to match up with his commercial stock.
For Porter, it was his opportunity to do the exact opposite and allow his high-level skill to get the commercial attention it deserves.
It would’ve helped if the fight were a bit more entertaining as opposed to the dirty tactics initiated by Broner which led to such an ugly fight at times, but it wasn’t without drama and the 12th-round knockdown Broner delivered, allowed for drama it a decently competitive fight.
Errol Spence fought in the evening’s co-feature, and he thought the fight was close, at least closer than the widest judge’s card.
Still, he acknowledges that Porter clearly outworked Broner.
“I didn’t agree with the 118-111, I think it was a lot closer fight, but it could’ve went either way. Shawn Porter, he was out hustling Adrien. I feel like Adrien wasn’t throwing enough punches. Adrien will bounce back,” Spence told Thaboxingvoice’s Fernando Pimentel.
Spence had some great insight regarding both fighters’ future. For instance, he believes Broner should remain at 140lbs., which is clearly the case.
As for Porter and his casual fan stock, Spence doesn’t believe it was enough to warrant a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr. But Spence isn’t hating at all. In fact, he broke down his reasoning perfectly, and it made sense.
When asked whether or not Porter should be considered for Floyd’s next fight, Spence responded no by acknowledging the differences between Maidana’s win over Broner leading to a Floyd fight and that of Porter’s.
“When [Floyd] took the Maidana fight, Maidana was real hot, and Adrien was the next heir apparent, he was the next Floyd Mayweather. That’s what everybody was saying, and Maidana took his ‘0’ (undefeated streak). That’s why I think Floyd took the fight.”
It is hard to argue, although Floyd did fight two guys coming off of a Berto victory. Spence believes that Porter can secure the fight, but only by taking another highly regarded “0” from another highly acknowledged fighter.
“If Shawn fights Keith Thurman, he’ll probably get that Mayweather fight later on, but I don’t see him getting it in September.”
When you think of the options, Floyd has in front of him it is hard to argue that anyone deserves a fight with Floyd at 147lbs. But there is one fight that sticks out to Spence.
“I would say an Amir Khan [deserved Floyd the most] at first, but after that Algieri fight it kind of dropped his stock a bit. I really don’t see anybody at 147 that I really want to see him fight. I’d like to see a Cotto rematch [at 154lbs], that’s about it.”
