Welterweight contender Shawn Porter inside the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
A few months removed from a ten-round whitewashing of Phil Lo Greco in Atlantic City, welterweight contender Shawn Porter (21-0-1, 14 KO’s) feels ready for a step up in his career.
Heading into his match with Lo Greco, a fight that took place underneath Lucas Matthysse’s 3rd round drilling of Lamont Peterson at the Boardwalk Hall, the 25-year old Porter knew he needed to shine.
After all, in his previous fight we saw Porter pushed to the limit over ten rounds against for two-time lightweight champion Julio Diaz in a fight he was expected to win handily.
Against Lo Greco, Porter was quick with his hands and feet, easily beating his Canadian foe to the punch while registering a knockdown in the tenth and final round that served as an exclamation mark to his victory.
Porter again finds himself working out of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas as he eyes a hopeful September return and despite a bevy of names floating around at 147 pounds, there is no word on who he will be facing next.
Wanting to get the conversation started, I asked Porter for his thoughts on the proposed December clash between IBF champion Devon Alexander and former titlist Amir Khan.
“Shawn Porter fights the winner,” Porter quipped, setting an obvious tone to our conversation. “That’s hopefully what we’re looking at.
“You look at Devon as a southpaw; I’m very good against southpaws,” Porter would continue. “But then you look at Amir Khan’s range. He’s very big and rangy. They’re both pretty good fighters. I don’t think either of them are tougher than the other.”
Another rumored fight that is of interest to Porter is the possibility of former champ Victor Ortiz returning to meet Alfonso Gomez in September. Porter trumped Gomez over ten rounds a year ago and he could see himself meeting up with Ortiz if he too is successful against the former “Contender” star.
“I kind of feel like they’re tuning Victor up for somebody,” said Porter. “It could be Shawn Porter. Let’s see what happens.”
This weekend in San Antonio, come backing former WBC kingpin Andre Berto will return to the ring in hopes of nabbing his first victory in nearly two years when he faces the always-game Jesus Soto Karass inside of the AT&T Center.
Also featured on the Showtime-televised tripleheader will be knockout artist Keith Thurman squaring off with interim WBA welterweight titlist Diego Gabriel Chaves from Argentina.
“Keith has definitely impressed me,” Porter would state of Thurman. “We came up in the amateurs together. We did a training camp together. But at some point, one of the guys has to fall.”
As for the Berto-Soto Karass pairing, Porter seems intrigued.
“That’s going to be a very good fight,” said Porter. “Hopefully Berto doesn’t come in there trying to bang, and if he does hopefully he lands some good, hard shots to get Soto out of there. But Soto’s a good fighter; he has a lot of heart.”
While some of these aforementioned fighters may be appealing to Porter, it’s actually a case of him feeling ready to challenge the most realistic option available, regardless of who the name is.
“At this point I will fight anybody you name,” Porter insisted. “Anybody on the list. Anybody out there, I’ll fight them.”
PLEASE CHECK OUT exclusive training footage of Shawn Porter below plus recent updates from Chris Robinson
Shawn Porter (21-0-1, 14 KO’s) sparring Lanell Bellows (4-0-1, 4 KO’s) in Las Vegas [July 2013]
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Floyd Mayweather Sr. showing off his skills inside the Mayweather Boxing Club [July 2013]
Chris Pearson remains unbeaten with 5th round TKO over Arturo Crespin in Vegas [Behind the scenes]
10-year old standout amateur Steven Lamont Foster trains and speaks from the Mayweather Boxing Club
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com