Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter are ready to battle for the World Boxing Council’s vacant welterweight title Saturday night at Barclays Center.
Garcia — the top-ranked WBC welterweight, followed by Porter — has opened as a slight favorite according to bookmakers.
“I know people have won money on me before,” Porter said. “And it wasn’t because I was the guy expected to win. So there’s going to be a lot of people out there winning a lot of money, and I’m looking forward to doing what it takes for them to get paid.”
Garcia is 34-1-0, and is coming off a TKO win over Brandon Rios in Las Vegas on Feb. 17. His only loss was the split decision to Keith Thurman. Porter is 28-2-1, and has won four of his last five fights. His only loss in that time was via unanimous decision on June 25, 2016, to Thurman for the World Boxing Association’s World Welterweight Title.
The title had been vacated by Thurman in April due to injury. Thurman had not fought since beating Garcia to unify the WBC and WBA 147-pound titles on March. 4, 2017. After the fight, Thurman had bone spurs and calcium deposits in his right elbow surgically removed. A proposed fight in May had to be postponed after Thurman suffered bruised left hand during training, although an opponent had not been announced. Thurman is still the WBA welterweight champion.
“It means the world to me,” Garcia said about the prospect of winning the WBC welterweight title for the second time. “This is a new chapter in my career. This is a new chapter in my career. Been in a lot of great fights. Been in a lot of tough fights. I’m a seasoned boxer. I’m a seasoned champion. Just regaining something that was mine. It’s like a bully, you know? Steals your lunch money. You can’t wait to get him back. It’s one of (those) moments where I have to prove (to) myself that I’m still the best fighter in the world.
"I absolutely want to unify with Errol Spence Jr. after I win. I want the biggest fights. This would be my fourth world title. All I've ever done is face everyone they put in front me and I've earned those huge fights. This is nothing new to me. I've performed at this level for a long time. I've put in the hard work. Come Saturday night I'm going to get this victory because I'm the better fighter and a true champion."
