Devon: I Beat Porter in Amateurs, Will Beat Him Again

by David P. Greisman

It was a long, long time ago when Devon Alexander and Shawn Porter first met in the ring.

“I was like 8 or 9,” Alexander said, recalling a bout that took place at the Ohio State Fair. “I remember the fight. That was one of my bigger tournaments that when I went to when I first started. That’s one of the ones that stuck with me, that I remember because it was one of the very first ones that my coach took me to. And there were some rides and rollercoasters.”

Alexander won a decision. Now both men are 26 years old and set to fight each other once again, this time as paid professionals on the Dec. 7 undercard to Zab Judah vs. Paulie Malignaggi at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The bout will be aired on Showtime, with Alexander (25-1, 14 KOs) defending his welterweight world title against the 22-0-1 Porter.

“I don’t see no difference,” Alexander said dismissively, comparing the Porter of his youth to the Porter of today. “He’s a good fighter, a good kid. But his skills are limited. You can’t beat me if you’re limited. You have to be something special.”

Porter, meanwhile, noted the obvious differences between a fight between elementary schoolers and a fight between highly trained adults.

“I remember going three 1-minute rounds, throwing pillows at each other,” Porter responded. “He said there’s not much difference between then and now, but we’re grown men now. I’m hungry and I’m up for the challenge. I ain’t got much trash talking to do, but we’ll see Dec. 7.”

Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com