Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
Get your fight week coverage here on Bloody Elbow, as IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr unifies with WBC champ Shawn Porter.
It’s champ vs. champ on Saturday, September 28th at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Errol Spence Jr (25-0, 21 KOs) has the IBF welterweight title, while Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) has the WBC belt. They will unify their belts in the main event, with the winner possessing half of the major titles at 147 lbs.
Spence is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision over Mikey Garcia, who learned the hard way that weight classes do matter, and Spence was also a cut above him from a pure boxing standpoint. “The Truth” looks the part of one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Ohio’s Porter won the WBC title against Danny Garcia in a fun scrap last year, but he had to eke out a split decision over Yordenis Ugas to keep his status as champion alive. He is not afraid to take on the best of the best, which you have to respect greatly.
The betting odds have Spence as a rightful large favorite, even though these are two of your top five welters. Spence is the more technical boxer and can be a brutal puncher, but Porter has a physical, bullying style and he likes to pressure. I’d be surprised if this fight failed to deliver fireworks. While Terence Crawford is struggling to get interesting opponents, Spence finds himself in his second straight PPV main event, and this bout vs. Porter has been heavily promoted by FOX.
The PPV undercard is actually really good, which is not something you normally say for boxing. WBC super-middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell defends his title against former champ David Benavidez, who only lost the title because he popped for cocaine in an out-of-competition test. For my money, Benavidez is one of the most exciting young talents in all of boxing. For a good ol’ slugfest, John Molina and Josesito Lopez are expected to duke it out in a welterweight bout, while prospects Mario Barrios and Batyr Akhmedov fight in an intriguing 140 lbs showdown for some WBA title that no decent person should care about.
Bloody Elbow will have full fight week coverage of Spence Jr vs. Porter, including play-by-play, analysis, highlights, and much more.
PPV Card (FOX PPV, 9 PM ET)
Errol Spence Jr (25-0, 21 KOs) vs. Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) – IBF/WBC welterweight titles
Anthony Dirrell (33-1-1, 24 KOs) vs. David Benavidez (21-0, 18 KOs) – WBC super-middleweight title
John Molina Jr (30-8, 24 KOs) vs. Josesito Lopez (36-8, 19 KOs) – 10 rounds, welterweights
Mario Barrios (24-0, 16 KOs) vs. Batyr Akhmedov (7-0, 6 KOs) – 12 rounds, junior welterweights
Preliminary Card (FS1, 7:30 PM ET)
Robert Guerrero (35-6-1, 20 KOs) vs. Gerald Thomas (14-1-1, 8 KOs) – 10 rounds, welterweights
Joey Spencer (8-0, 6 KOs) vs. Travis Gambardella (5-0-2, 2 KOs) – 4 rounds, middleweights