By Jake Donovan

Shawn Porter claims to have always been indifferent to all matters relating to Adrien Broner, from their amateur days in separate parts of Ohio through the past seven years together—but separate—in the pro ranks.

Leave it to Broner to help change a simple in-state rivalry into a budding grudge match, if only for the next few days.

The pair of Ohioans will collide this weekend at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (Saturday, NBC, 8:30 p.m. ET). The venue is just one of several matters on which Porter willingly co-signed for the sake of making the fight happen, the 144 lb. catchweight marking the greatest concession made.

Porter (25-1-1, 16KOs) didn’t necessarily mind any of the terms presented to him during negotiations. All that mattered was securing a fight with a notable fighter such as Broner. The two have been familiar with one another dating back their amateur days in separate parts of Ohio—Broner from Cincinnati, Porter proudly representing the working-class town of Akron—but not to the point of forming neither a relationship nor a rivalry.

Then came their first media session together prior to fight week.

“There was no animosity about the weigh in until the press conference we had last week (in Los Angeles),” Porter commented during a recent media conference call, for which Broner (30-1, 22KOs) was a no-show. “We knew the contracted weight was 144 lbs. Here we are a week from the fight. The kid who chose to make the contracted weight, wishes not to talk about the contracted weight, any rehydration clause.

“The more we talk about it, the more the animosity begins to build up.”

The bout marks Porter’s second ring appearance since dealt his first loss at the hands of Kell Brook last August, losing his welterweight title in the process.

An eight-month layoff followed before returning with a 5th round stoppage of late replacement Erick Bone this past March. The Spike-TV televised affair—the first fight of the inaugural edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on the network—took place at welterweight, where Porter has spent the better part of the last five years. It’s where he continues to stay, regardless of what happens this weekend.

The same could not be said of Broner, who abandoned the welterweight division following his title fight loss to Marcos Maidana in Dec. ’13. The bout left Broner 1-1 as a welterweight, having leapfrogged the 140 lb. division to compete at the weight following a brief stay as a lightweight titlist.

Broner has spent his last three fights at or near the junior welterweight limit, including a 12-round win over John Molina in the first fight of the PBC series, airing this past March on NBC.

It remains unclear whether Broner plans to stay at 140 or move back up to welterweight following his upcoming clash with Porter. The weight issue heading into this weekend was cleared up over the course of Monday’s conference call, but still left Porter questioning Broner’s desire for greatness.

“My weight class was 147 for so long. You want to move up; then move up,” Porter noted, having fought at welterweight since 2010, coming down in weight—having previously fought at 154 after turning pro at his amateur-fighting weight of 165 lbs. “Put your skills on the line. Put it all on the line at 147. But I’m not worried about it. We still maintain our professionalism."

As for how he now feels about his opponent?

“(There’s) no personal animosity. I know him from a difference. It’s just been, ‘Hey how you doing?’ in passing, not friends or anything. It was also never, ‘Why a talking to me, you’re a future opponent for me.’ We’re cool. The night of the fight, we will be foes. That’s it.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox