Former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter has a fight coming up against Roberto Garcia in a comeback fight after his loss to Britains Kell Brook for his title in August of last year. This was Porters first ever loss as a professional and after consecutive wins over Julio Diaz, Devon Alexander and Paul Malignaggi, many were discussing Porter as one of the next big things in boxing. He was the favourite against Brook due to his edge in competition level going into that fight but ended up losing a mixed decision at the end of the night.
It will be interesting going into this fight to see how he has cope with taking his first loss. Sometimes we see fighters lose confidence in their abilities after a loss, like when Bute lost his title to Carl Froch in a fight where he was favoured to win. However seeing as the Brook fight was quite close, it is unlikely that we will see anything that drastic.
This is a bout which Porter needs to win to remain a good name in the division, too often we see former champions start to build up consecutive losses and drop off the map in a division as crowded as this one and Berto/Ortiz are examples of this.
Garcia is on an eight fight win steak currently, including a TKO over Victor Cayo and a decision win over Breidis Prescott. He is a good fighter and should test Porter, but should Porter win there will be a lot of doors open for him for his next fight. A former champion with only one loss on his record is a good opponent for any of the top fighters currently campaigning for a title.
In an interview with ThaBoxingVoice porter said he was open to fighting someone like a Provodnikov or a Matthysse, and I believe a win over either of these two men would lead him to really big things as those are two fighters that are respected as tough warriors in the sport. It is believed that Provodnikov and Matthysse are going to fight each other next and Porter vs the winner would be a very interesting prospect.
