By Edward Chaykovsky
Kenny Porter, father and head trainer of welterweight contender Shawn Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs), is trying to secure a fight with Andre Berto.
Porter has been out of the ring since losing a June decision to WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The fight with Thurman was one of the better action-packed contests of 2016. Porter was angling to secure a rematch, but Thurman has already moved forward to a unification with WBC champion Danny Garcia on March 4.
Porter is back in the gym and training, but his father is having a lot of trouble getting any top opponent to face his son.
“Shawn is great,” the older Porter said to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “He took just a little bit of time off for the holidays, I would say a week, but he came right back to the gym and doing everything we want him to do. His weight is good, he’s looking for a fight. We’re having trouble getting someone to accept a fight against Shawn. We’re hopeful something gets done soon.”
As far as the next opponent, Kenny Porter has placed a target on the back on Berto (31-4, 24 KOs). Both boxers are advised by Al Haymon and fight under the Premier Boxing Champions banner.
Berto has been away from the ring since knocking out Victor Ortiz in their rematch last April. Prior to that, in September 2015, he lost a twelve round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Right now, we’re really pushing hard for Andre Berto,” Kenny Porter said. “He fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. and he went 12 rounds with him. He’s a high-level guy, with a high-level name. We want that fight and I was just told by a reporter that Andre wants to fight Shawn, too. So he’ll be receiving a call from us today (Thursday).”
“It’s hard waiting. We thought we would be fighting before the end of 2016. Someone needs to sign that contract and we’re not settling for a tuneup fight. We want a high-level guy and we’re hoping it’s Andre Berto.”
