By Chris Robinson
Ever since relocating his training base to Las Vegas earlier this year, welterweight contender Shawn Porter has continued to improve as fighter.
His two performances in 2013, a whitewash unanimous decision over Canada’s Phil Lo Greco in May and a redemption victory over Julio Diaz in a hotly-contested rematch in September, have shown us the best of the Akron, Ohio native.
Porter is presently embedded in camp inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club at the moment, as he continues to grind towards his Dec. 7 clash on Showtime against IBF champion Devon Alexander.
And while the work has thus far been hard, there are some big moves happening that will surely add to the intensity of the camp.
It looks as though newly-crowned WBO junior middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade, fresh off his Nov. 9 title win against Vanes Martirosyan, has arrived in the city and will be serving as one of Porter’s chief sparring partners.
Porter’s farther and trainer Kenny crossed paths with Andrade on Saturday night inside of the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. prior to WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward’s victory over Edwin Rodriguez.
“He came up to me and I didn’t even have to ask him,” Kenny revealed. “He said ‘Coach, you need me? I’ll come.’ So he’s coming.”
The Porters have known Andrade since the amateurs and it was a natural fit for him to come aboard.
“I’ve known Demetrius since he was 14,” Kenny stated. “Him and Shawn had a couple fights. We’ve been in camps together; I’ve coached Demetrius in camps. I’ve had a lot of interaction with him over the years. Him and Shawn are still friends.”
Andrade will likely give Porter some excellent work due to his speed, quickness, excellent movement, and ability to fire shots with both hands.
There are some other happenings taking place in Porter’s camp that will definitely catch some people by surprise. Stay tuned in the coming days for more updates.
