IBF welterweight champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr (26-0, 21 KOs) was forced to fight tooth and nail to defeat WBC champion ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night in a war at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Spence nailed down the victory with an 11th round knockdown of Porter. Spence caught Porter rushing in, and nailed him with a left hook that sent him down to the canvas. Porter got up quickly, and let Spence that he wanted him to bring. Spence happily obliged and finished the round strong. The two fighters traded huge shots in the 12th in a toe-to-toe battle.
Porter fought surprisingly well in the first half of the fight. He had Spence looking confused, and uncertain how to handle his pressure style of fighting. Porter was able to outwork Spence through many of the early rounds. That was when Porter was at his strongest. Like he normally does, Spence came on strong in the second half of the fight.
With the win, Spence is now the IBF/WBC welterweight champion. Ideally, he’d like to face WBA champion Manny Pacquiao next, but that fight isn’t likely in the cards. The Filipino star is reportedly interested in facing Mikey Garcia next year.
All Results:
Errol Spence SD 12 Shawn Porter
116-111, 116-111 Spence, 115-112 Porter
David Benavidez TKO 9 Anthony Dirrell
Mario Barrios UD 12 Batyr Akhmedov
Josesito Lopez KO 8 John Molina
Robert Guerrero UD 10 Gerald Thomas
Joey Spencer TKO 3 Travis Gambardella
Misael Rodriguez TKO3 Brandon Maddox
Fabian Maidana TKO 1 Ramses Agaton
Leon Lawson III TKO 2 Alan Zavala
Alfonso Olvera UD 8 Amon Rashidi
Tony Lopez UD 8 Fernando Garcia
Burley Brooks TKO 1 Fabian Valdez
Spence vs. Porter pit unbeaten IBF Welterweight Champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. against WBC Welterweight Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter in a 147-pound title unification that headlined a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View event on Saturday, September 28 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
The pay-per-view event began at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and featured WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell facing unbeaten former champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez in the co-main event, unbeaten contenders Mario “El Azteca” Barrios and Batyr Akhmedov battling for the WBA Super Lightweight title, and rugged veteran Josesito “The Riverside Rocky” Lopez and brawler John Molina Jr. competing in a 10-round welterweight fight. The event was promoted by Man Down Promotions, TGB Promotions and Shawn Porter Promotions.
