Shawn Porter Smiles: "Special Things Happen in Brooklyn"

By Thomas Gerbasi

Boxers have many reasons to be jealous of Shawn Porter. He’s a former world champion, he has a chance to win another title this weekend when he faces Keith Thurman, and he’s one of those rare individuals who is generally liked by most people in the fight business.

But if you’re a pro boxer, the real reason to be envious of Porter is that during a recent media opportunity in Brooklyn, he actually got to punch a few of those media members in some light-hearted sparring sessions. No more sitting idle when being ridiculed for a less than thrilling performance or for not fighting this or that fighter.

This time, Porter got to punch back.

“When you are in this business but you aren't a competitor, you can talk a little bit more than the fighters do,” he said, referring to one particular session. “I wanted him to feel what we feel and have some of those same thoughts that we have. (Laughs) I scared him, but I didn't hurt him.”

Porter laughs, and while there was more defense than offense coming from the former IBF welterweight champion, there was a point to be made. Primarily, it was that boxing isn’t two brawlers punching each other. It’s a craft, one that takes skill, determination and smarts for one to make it to the elite level.

“I honestly feel that's very important because it is regarded as such a brutal sport,” Porter said. “And yes, you see people knocked out sometimes, and something unfortunate happens sometimes, but within that there's a lot of uniqueness in all of us - a lot of skill, a lot of time put in to develop a craft. And I think it's important for people to realize that. Our lives are on the line, but at the same time, we have the skills to do what it takes to not get hurt.”

Through 28 pro bouts, Porter has done more hurting than being hurt. He’s won 26 of those bouts, losing only to Kell Brook and drawing with Julio Diaz, and after his drubbing of Adrien Broner in his most recent bout in June of 2015, the fight that fans and media wanted to see most at 147 pounds was “Showtime” against WBA champion Thurman. And to everyone’s surprise, the highly-anticipated fight actually got made. What a novel concept.

“People are more surprised that we are willing to fight and that makes them eager to see the fight,” Porter said. “If we had not announced that we were going to fight, people would talk about us fighting, but there wouldn't be any letdown if we didn't fight because top champions don't fight other top champions nowadays. It's always a champion against a competitor or a challenger, not a champion against a champion. But people see the greatness in both of us and they want to see us show up on June 25th. It's cool that people can't figure out who's going to win this fight. They don't know, and that adds to the excitement of this fight.”

The oddsmakers see Thurman as the favorite, but ask ten fans about the fight and you’ll get ten different answers, backing up Porter’s words. And if you follow boxing, you know that the Barclays Center headliner is a special fight.

“Special things happen in Brooklyn, so I'm looking forward to it,” said Porter, who was supposed to face Thurman on March 12 in Connecticut before Thurman was involved in a car accident that postponed the fight to this Saturday. “It's all about special and being a part of greatness. If anything, it gets me excited, and it's just more motivation. So there's definitely no pressure. There’s no pressure to be myself and that's the good part about it. When I'm myself and I do what I'm asked to do, I'm successful.”

So was there any fight that got Porter as excited as he and Thurman have gotten fight fans about their bout?

“Growing up, no, but honestly, when the (Manny) Pacquiao-(Floyd) Mayweather fight was finally made, it was a real moment, like, 'Wow, we're about to see it happen.'”

Thurman-Porter may not have garnered that amount of mainstream buzz, but expect a lot more action in Brooklyn than Mayweather and Pacquiao delivered in Vegas.