Porter learned to appreciate the art more from Mosley

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Shawn PorterThe last time we saw ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter in the ring, he was dominating Adrien Broner for a unanimous decision victory in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card back in June.

Following the victory, he was a long-shot candidate to get a date with Floyd Mayweather Jr. With that September clash going to Andre Berto, the former IBF World welterweight titleholder has been looking for a dance partner, but he’s still been tearing up the gym.

Tha Boxing Voice’s Sean Zittel caught up with Porter outside The Forum leading up to the fight where the topic of Broner made a cameo.

From Porter’s viewpoint, he focused more on getting the job done in the ring than playing mind games.

As a result on fight night, Broner’s role as the psychological warfare Pied Piper was rendered ineffective, with the exception of a 12th round knockdown on a pinpoint left hook which sent Porter to the floor.

“What Adrien was trying to accomplish was more than just selling tickets because the tickets were sold more than anything. He was trying to get me outside of myself. That’s just not my thing,” Porter said. “I do what I want to do. That’s it.”

Most recently, Porter was in California sparring with Shane Mosley to help the former champion prepare for a grudge match against Ricardo Mayorga, which the 43-year-old won by sixth-round KO.

“He came to Vegas and the first time we sparred it was like, ‘Okay, that was cool. Four rounds. Whatever.’ I was just kinda like, ‘How long until this fight? Alright he’s got some time. He’ll be alright.’

“We sparred again before he left Vegas and it kind of picked up a little bit, which is what you expect. When I came here [California], I called my boys back home and I was like, ‘Yo, Shane here is doing his thing. He will be ready for this fight.”

“Top to bottom, he is everything you expect from a former world champion and a Hall of Famer and a legend of this game.”

In retrospect, Porter concedes that training with a fighter that’s been in the sport as long as ‘Sugar’ Shane has made him appreciate the art of boxing more than he expected to.

“There are a lot of techniques that you don’t get in the amateurs, you just flat out don’t get it in 60 seconds and the fight’s done. When you turn pro, you’re fighting B-level guys, C-level guys that don’t know what ‘Sugar’ Shane knows.”

“Once you make it to the world championship level. Now they are doing more of the professional techniques of holding, stopping you from punching, being able to stay away and not allowing you to hit him with flushes like you’re used to.”

“What I learned and respect about Shane is he’s able to use offense and defense along with the professional techniques and it all happens so quick, so fast that you go from actually boxing to, ‘Oh sh–, we’re locked up.’ It starts to click.”

If you want to learn and be competitive and fight against it, that’s what I do now. After he does a move to me that I’ve never felt or it happened again, I try to do it right back that way I know that I’m learning it. He has really helped me grow in a short amount of time.”

Although Mosley is not the same fighter from the days he fought Molina, De La Hoya, and Vargas, veterans like himself more often than not are a big part in breading younger champions into world-class level fighters.

What does that do for a 27-year-old Shawn Porter? He’s going to be a world champion again without a doubt.