Errol Spence believes KO win over Shawn Porter will raise his star profile
Three days away from the weekend’s big bout, the PPV attraction put forth by PBC, which will add another notch to the resume of Errol Spence, or serve as an upset special for Shawn Porter, not in the realm of the Andy Ruiz win over Anthony Joshua but something arguably in that ballpark.
Yes, folks most of the pundits and the fandom are thinking that the Texan Spence, who excelled so mightily in his last tango, against Mikey Garcia, is too skilled for the wiling warrior Porter, and that will be proven out Saturday evening at Staples Center.
The two pugs did a grand arrival session on Tuesday, and we looked for hints about their demeanor, searched for tidbits and tells which might give us some insight into how it all goes down at Staples Center. Or, if someone will go down…
Spence indicated during the in-public media session at the arena that he is aiming for that, that he wants to be the first man to stop Porter. He is soft spoken, doesn’t offer fancy talk. He told Ray Flores that he wants to fight the best, and knows Porter is among the best at 147. Hello, he has a strap, the WBC version, which Spence seems like he fully expects to snag.
“Across the board,” is how Spence described his edges as he counts down to fight night. He said that as a kid he day-dreamed about events such as this.
And, yes, I do think that we can expect the Texan to press the issue, and seek out the stoppage.
He chatted with Radio Rahim, and told the interviewer that a KO will push him toward super stardom.
“I didn’t care if I did or didn’t,” he said, when asked about stopping Mikey Garcia. And what about Porter…is he craving a stoppage? “I definitely care, it’s something that I definitely want, I’d be disappointed if I didn’t,” the Texas-based hitter said.
The Champ takes overJerry World!
IBF Welterweight @ErrolSpenceJr’s back at AT&T Stadium rooting on the home team, ahead of his Unification Title Fight, September 28th on PPV. pic.twitter.com/aqprJP5Ymx
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) September 25, 2019
Porter has yapped…his dad has done the same…and he wants Porter to keep the same hard-core energy Saturday.
The IBF 147 champ Spence (25-0, 21 knockouts), age 29, continued: He said if and when he beats Porter, next might be a fight with Manny Pacquiao. If that doesn’t occur, he will look at a Terence Crawford fight. Or, perhaps, move to 154 and try to grab a belt there. (Though the way he described the land-scape there, it doesn’t sound heavily enticing). He called Pacman a living legend, but he’d be happy to get a W over the Filipino, even though people assume that Spence is too strong for the fighting Senator. And what about Canelo? Canelo could beat Kovalev, he thinks, and he seems to like the red-head’s chance to down the 175er.
And when all is said and done, he wants to give fans a dominant performance, and entertain them.
The chill hitter said he likes the fans to be able to see him as approachable, and reiterated that he wants to give watchers bang for their buck. He says that chill manner helps him, because he seems super sweet, basically, and then inside the ropes, he unleashes a different sort of animal. Also, yes, he pays attention to pundit talk, and holds a mental list of doubters. Who might be in the cross hairs, off of that lost? Gotta see the post-fight presser, said Spence. Smart, he’s setting the table for you to watch before, during and after the scrap.
The affable hitter Porter, age 31, also chatted up media. The 30-2-1 pugilist beat Danny Garcia for his strap, which was vacated, and then defended it once, versus Yordenis Ugas. He was asked about his Saturday PPV endeavor, and said that he’d rather DO than talk about it.
Is he seeing and hearing that people are giving him a chance to beat Spence, after that initial surge of pundits saying the Texan is a massive favorite? Yes, indeed he said, but mostly it matters what his team thinks of his chances. “We gonna take the fight to him,” he said. “He’s gotta feel my power and know when he touches me, I ain’t going nowhere!”
The scrapper, who went pro in 2008, admitted that Spence is relentless…so, yes, he understands this is a high hill to climb. He told Ray Flores that he wanted all to know that he’s ready to rock, so he took off his shirt, to show off his physique. He promised “excitement, beginning to end.” He shared that he has been enjoying the process, which his grin made clear.
The underdog said that he is used to being the underdog, and isn’t working from a chip on his shoulder. He said he will probably have LeBron James, a fellow Ohio native, in the building rooting him on Saturday.
He is with Spence, feels this is a legacy fight. And his prediction? “Showtime Shawn Porter is leaving LA back to Vegas with two belts,” he stated.
My three cents: Two gents are doing their thing, and repping the sport exceedingly well. No manufactured mock hatred, and I’d expect no pre-planned shoving to prime the PPV buy pump. That should be lauded and re-lauded. Props to both these pros.
That said, I’d not be overly enthused if I were Porter, hearing Spence say he’s gunning for the stoppage. That’s good news for fight fans, though, who are now more likely to see more passionate fighting, as opposed to as much technical wizardry, as in the last Spence scrap.