By Cliff Rold
Fighting near home for the first time on Friday night, 22-year old Shawn Porter (13-0, 10 KO) of Akron, Ohio got some needed professional rounds under his belt after a series of early endings in his last seven contests (six by knockout), winning by decision in a competitive affair with 27-year old Russell Jordan (15-7, 10 KO) of Rochester, New York at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Both men weighed in two pounds below the Jr. Middleweight limit at 152 lbs.
Jordan, at 6’2, came into the fight with a seven inch height and ten inch reach advantage. It was no surprise when his first punch of the night was a quick southpaw right jab. Porter, charging in behind a short jab, was clipped with a quick right hook on the top of the head. Stepping out and bouncing on his toes, Porter aimed his jab at the body but struggled to land in close and Jordan began wisely tying up. In the final minute, Porter left his feet with a series of hooks to little avail but found a home for some hard hooks to the body when Jordan attempted further clinches.
Attempting to jab from too far out, Porter’s offensive rushes were muffled in the early going of round two, Jordan able to use his reach to jab after Porter and throw off his rhythm just enough to take something off the hook. Porter, with quick hands, was able to bull Jordan to the topes and landed some viciously intended hooks but Jordan kept his senses about him. Answering with a sharp counter right hook of his own, Porter was rocked onto his heels, shuffling backwards across the ring. Jordan stepped forward but could not land another damaging blow by round’s end.
A sloppy round three followed and favored Jordan, his long arms and occasional right hooks leaving Porter looking confused. A Jordan slip to the floor early in the fourth brought a cheer from the partisan faithful but the referee ruled no knockdown. A heated exchange near the halfway point of round four saw both men throwing short on the inside, Porter throwing and landing a little more. Three hard hooks to the body, and a left to the head, connected for Porter and moments later he worked off the ropes with two hard straight rights.
A tactical round five saw Porter backing up, trying to lure Jordan into a hammering counter but Jordan stayed tall. In round six, Porter engaged and landed some thudding hooks and rights but Jordan took them and responded again with his own hard right hands. A particularly hard shot from Jordan at the minute mark briefly brought a pause to Porter who then elected to box the bulk of the round.
The odd couple pairing continued to produce awkward results in the seventh and eighth with Porter edging the frames on greater activity and higher volume of landed blows. Round nine produced not just odd coupling but an odd point deduction, referee Randy Jarvis taking a point from Jordan for losing the mouthpiece when caught with a left hook. Typically, such deductions come when a fighter intentionally spits the bit.
Appearing well ahead on points, Porter continued to circle and charge in the tenth and final round. Using his straight right hand to secure connections, Porter mixed in a hard uppercut but resigned himself to the bout going the distance outside of a brief flurry in the final minute. Hooking back, Jordan backed Porter off and heard the final bell.
Porter secured the unanimous verdict at 97-92 twice and 100-89, but more importantly the 2007 U.S. National Golden Gloves champion and former Olympic alternate got through his first ten round contest. It will certainly be a learning experience, Porter winning when the things he does best weren’t working for him.
Jordan loses for the fifth time in his last eight starts.
In the entertaining televised opener, contested just above the 140 lb. Jr. Welterweight limit, 27 year old Lanard Lane (11-0, 7 KO), 143 ½, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania captured a decisive eight-round decision over a game 30-year old Martin Tucker (7-5, 3 KO), 141 ½, of Toledo, Ohio.
By night’s end, Tucker’s nose would bleed and his right eye was nearly shut, but he showed tremendous guts in staying up all eight rounds and never stopped trying. Both men threw over 500 punches in the fight; Lane just landed far more. Tucker was simply overmatched by a quicker and more accurate Lane who skillfully carved Tucker up along the ropes with a snapping jab, body shots, targeted hooks around Tucker’s defenses, and damaging straight punches through the guard. Lane was the clear unanimous decision winner at scores of 77-75, 78-74, and 80-71.
The card was broadcast on U.S. basic cable outlet ESPN2 as part of its Friday Night Fights Series, promoted by Prize Fight.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
