LOS ANGELES — When Errol Spence Jr. got his first opportunity to fight for a welterweight world title in 2017, it came about only because he was a mandatory challenger. Nobody with a belt wanted to voluntarily give him a shot because facing him figured to be such a high-risk/low-reward proposition.
Spence’s opportunity came on the road. He traveled to Kell Brook’s hometown of Sheffield, England, and scored an impressive 11th-round KO to win the belt.
Spence’s quest to fight top welterweights hasn’t yielded his desired results. In March, Spence agreed to fight the much smaller Mikey Garcia, who had called him out during his postfight interview after beating Robert Easter Jr. in July 2018. Garcia, who had won titles in four divisions, moved up two weight divisions to challenge Spence. Garcia paid the price and lost every single round of their fight.
One man who hasn’t shied away from a challenge in the ring is two-time welterweight world titlist Shawn Porter. For years he has tangled with top welterweights, including Danny Garcia, whom he outpointed to win a vacant title last September. Following a mandatory defense in March against another formidable foe — Yordenis Ugas — Porter was more than willing to accept a fight with Spence.
Spence and Porter will battle on Saturday at Staples Center (Fox PPV, 9 p.m ET). Both believe the winner should be considered the best welterweight in the world, even though the division is also home to the legendary titleholder Manny Pacquiao and titlist Terence Crawford.
“There’s no way around it. The winner is the unified champion,” Spence said. “So, I definitely think the winner should be considered the top welterweight in the world and that makes me even more excited and hungry to win.
“I’m looking to make a statement by being the first person to knock Shawn out. I showed people that I have the great boxing skills against Mikey Garcia, and now I’m going to remind everyone about my power.”
Porter also has a deep desire for victory.
“I don’t just want to challenge Errol Spence Jr. I took on this fight because I want to be the guy who beats him and takes his ‘0,’” Porter said of Spence’s perfect record. “I think Kell Brook challenged him, but I’m here to have my hand raised at the end of the night.”
This is your Ringside Seat:
A fight to unite
There has been a rich history of big-time unification fights in the welterweight division, including Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns I, Felix Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, to name just three big ones.
Unification is very important to Spence (25-0, 21 KOs). He would have liked to fight Pacquiao, but instead Pacquiao elected to fight, and outpoint, Keith Thurman in July.
“I was just looking for the next available guy. I wanted a unification fight, too,” Spence said. “Shawn Porter was the easiest fight to make and the quickest fight to make.
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Errol Spence Jr. wants to face Manny Pacquiao next and not Terence Crawford after Shawn Porter, because facing Pacquiao would be a lucrative fight.
“I wanted the chance to beat Pacquiao. Pacquiao is a bigger name and a bigger fight. So, of course, I wanted that fight. But Shawn Porter is [a] champion too. So, I definitely wanted to unify.”
Although Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) has faced several elite opponents, this will also be his first opportunity to be in a unification bout.
“There’s nothing better than that, man,” Porter said. “When I was young watching boxing, I never knew what ‘unified’ meant. I never knew what ‘undisputed’ meant. I never understood what any of that meant, and then you get older and you start to go through it, and now I am a part of what another kid will see and admire and want to be like. It’s a humongous deal.”
Spence’s toughest test?
After winning his title from Brook, Spence took on former titlist Lamont Peterson, who was past his prime. Spence won every second of that fight in a seventh-round stoppage in January 2018.
From there, Spence accepted a bout against mandatory challenger Carlos Ocampo, and destroyed him in the first round.
He still could not get a whiff from another elite welterweight, so he accepted Garcia’s challenge.
So while Spence is regarded by many as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, he still has yet to face an elite welterweight.
Even Brook, as good as he was, came into the fight just eight months after suffering a debilitating injury — a broken orbital bone in a fifth-round TKO loss to Gennady Golovkin when he moved up two weight classes to challenge GGG for his middleweight title.
That makes Porter the first elite welterweight Spence will have faced.
Spence, 29, of DeSoto, Texas, has wanted to prove himself against the best, and gives credit to Porter — whom he has known and been friendly with for years — for taking the fight.
“This is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I’ve been yearning to get the top guys in the division,” Spence said. “It’s been frustrating because a lot of guys have different excuses [for not fighting]. Now I’m getting my opportunity and my crack at a title I’ve been wanting for a long time.
Spence said the Porter fight could be one of his toughest “because of Shawn’s style and how he comes forward and throws a lot of punches and his will to win.”
Until he sees how the fight goes, Spence still, however, says Brook is his best foe so far.
“Under the circumstances, the Kell Brook fight was tough because of my first time fighting overseas and fighting a champion. I think Kell Brook was my toughest,” he said.
Defining fight for Porter?
For the past few years, the welterweight division has been one of the deepest in boxing and Porter has had a chance to face one high-quality opponent after another.
Porter, 31, of Las Vegas, has defeated fighters such as Danny Garcia, Ugas, Andre Berto, Adrien Broner, Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi. His only losses were by close majority decisions to Brook in his first title loss and Thurman.
A win over Spence would be Porter’s biggest win if he gets it.
“Yes and no,” he said when asked if beating Spence would indeed be his biggest win. “No, because I think I’ve done a lot in this sport, especially as a professional, to really define who I am as a fighter. But going up against a guy like Errol Spence, I think that really can make a mark and define who you are as a fighter.
“Yes, because if there was ever anything lacking in what you thought Shawn Porter could do, it should all pour out Saturday night.
Ken Porter, Shawn’s father and trainer, says his son is ready for the challenge.
“I know Errol is great, but I just don’t believe he’s been in that dog fight and had that adversity and had to come back and deal with something or deal with resistance,” he said. “He’s been so dominant, he’s had guys backing up to the ropes and covering up. That’s not happening on Saturday night.”