By Jake Donovan
Shawn Porter survived the toughest test of his young career, overcoming a rocky start to score a unanimous decision over Ray Robinson on Friday evening at the Desoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi.
Scores were 99-89, 98-91 and 97-92, hardy indicative of the competitive action that took place in the co-feature battle of a Showtime-televised tripleheader, though ultimately scored for the right guy in the end.
Robinson entered the fight coming off of a seven-month layoff and also the first loss of his pro career. Ring rust didn’t appear to be an issue for the native New Yorker, boxing smartly and going tit-for-tat with Porter over the first three rounds.
The story of the bout to that point was Porter’s more telling blows versus Robinson’s greater frequency. It wasn’t until the fourth round in which Porter showed signs of taking over the fight, turning up the aggression and perhaps finally solving Robinson’s crafty, southpaw style.
Porter had a chance to blow things out of the water in the sixth, scoring the lone knockdown of the bout, landing a flush right hand to ignite a flurry that put Robinson down and nearly out. Porter fought the remainder of the round and much of the seventh like a man who wanted to end matters instantaneously.
Robinson found a way to survive, though it meant giving away much of the seventh round, though he closed strong with a right uppercut. The strategy paid off, as he was able to come out strong in the eighth, drawing blood from the corner of Porter’s right eye.
Just when Porter showed signs of slowing down, he came back with a vengeance, landing flush left hooks to wobble Robinson late in the round. Robinson was once again in trouble late in the ninth, staggered by a series of head shots as his legs nearly gave out.
Both fighters came out for the tenth and final round under the belief that the fight was still on the table. Despite Porter consistently landing the harder shots throughout the night, it was Robinson who sought to brawl in the final three minutes. Porter was more than willing to oblige, though no longer able to move Robinson around the ring as was the case for much of the second half of the fight.
Despite the wide scores, Porter left the ring – while victorious – knowing that he was given the toughest test of his career. In the end, it still goes down as a win, as he improves to 16-0 (12KO) in what is already his fourth fight of 2010, three of which have aired live on national television.
Robinson heads back home with his head held high, knowing that he pushed a highly touted prospect to the absolute limit. However, it also results in his second straight loss as he dips to 11-2 (4KO).
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
