By Jake Donovan
From the moment the discussion began of a potential clash between Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter, many in the boxing world wondered where in Ohio such a bout would take place.
There was speculation that it could land at a venue such as the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. Broner has played the riverfront venue in televised wins over Vincente Rodriguez, Vicente Escobedo and Emmanuel Taylor, the latter having taken place last September with more than 8,000 in attendance for his homecoming.
Perhaps it could have been staged at Wolstein Center on the Cleveland State University campus, less than an hour from Porter’s hometown of Akron. The college basketball arena in downtown Cleveland has played host to several boxing events in the past, including Porter’s lone pro fight in his home state—a 10-round decision win over Russell Jordan more than five years ago in an ESPN2-televised headliner.
With such hopes came disappointment expressed once the in-state rivalry was dispatched to Las Vegas, Nevada. Their scheduled 12-round bout—to be fought at a maximum catchweight of 144 lbs.—will headline this weekend at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the latest installment of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on free-to-air NBC (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET).
The setting doesn’t at all bother Porter, even if it means not being able to directly interact from his legion of fans back home in Akron.
“I don’t just represent Akron; I’m a Northeast Ohio guy. It’s a blessing to represent Northeast Ohio and do that with pride,” Porter (25-1-1, 16KOs) proudly proclaimed, before explaining the business side of his forthcoming fight. “Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from my dad. If you want to improve and do everything at the higher level, you have to leave home alone.
“Las Vegas is the place to be. We moved out here to two years ago to train. A fight of this magnitude is taking place where it’s supposed to be.”
The fight is Porter’s second since the lone loss of his career, a 12-round decision to Kell Brook last August to bring an end to his welterweight title reign. He has since rebounded with a 5th round stoppage of late replacement Erick Bone this past March, which was immediately followed by negotiations—and an eventual agreement—for a showdown with Broner, who has won three straight since his lone loss suffered at the hands of Marcos Maidana 18 months ago.
Where the fight takes place doesn’t change his desire to not only beat Broner (30-1, 22KOs), but also claim status as Ohio’s finest.
“After the fight, we can talk about bragging rights for Ohio,” Porter quipped.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
