By Rick Reeno
IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15KOs) is looking forward to his mandatory title defense against undefeated challenger Kell Brook (32-0, 22KOs) of the UK. BoxingScene.com's Nick Halling first reported on Friday that September 6th was the new target date for the fight.
Although some have questioned Brook's level of opposition as he approaches the fight with Porter, the defending champion is taking his second title defense very seriously and expects the very best Kell Brook on fight night.
"I never look at it in terms of him never beating anybody. I look at him being 32-0 and me being 24-0, coming at him with everything I have. He better be prepared. I'm sure he's seen me fight. He should be over there working hard. I expect a great fighter to get in the ring that night. I don't expect a fighter who's beat up 32 washed-up fighters to get in the ring. I'm expecting him at his best and I will put out my best and I'll take care of him," Porter said to BoxingScene.com.
One factor pertaining to Brook, that peaked Porter's interest, is the challenger's punch resistance. In a few of his past fights, Brook has been rattled and there were moments when he was rattled bad. Both Carson Jones and Vyacheslav Senchenko, who are not as gifted or as physically strong as Porter, were capable of shaking Brook up.
In his first defense of the title earlier this year, Porter pulled off a devastating knockout of former two division champion Paulie Malignaggi. If he's able to land the same type of punches in September, Porter believes a similar ending could be in store for Brook.
"I've see a few of his fights now and that one [with Senchenko] in particular. It just lets me know that if I touch him the same way that I touched Paulie - it can happen. The same thing that happened to Paulie, it can happen to him. I'm not overlooking him or going in there looking for one punch. I'm going to do what I always do and that's be smart, throw combinations and I think that more than anything will get the job done," Porter said.
