Shawn Porter isn’t offended by the one-sided odds on his welterweight championship showdown with Errol Spence Jr.
Most Internet and Las Vegas sports books list Spence as at least a 10-1 favorite over Porter in their 147-pound title unification fight September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Porter discussed during a conference call Tuesday his perspective on Spence being such a heavy favorite entering their FOX Sports Pay-Per-View main event.
“No, the betting odds, they don’t give me any more energy or drive to do anything different,” Porter said. “It’s my understanding that I’m gonna see a lot of people that are gonna say, ‘I bet on you, man. Thanks.’ And it’s gonna be a lot of people out there saying, ‘Man, I should’ve bet on you.’ You know, and that’s always fun to hear and see. So, I’m looking forward to that.”
Still, based on his resume, Porter does believe the odds on their fight should be closer.
The 31-year-old Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) has lost only a majority decision to Kell Brook and a close unanimous decision to Keith Thurman during a pro career that began in October 2008. England’s Brook and Thurman, of Clearwater, Florida, were undefeated when they topped Porter in those welterweight championship matches.
Porter, of Akron, Ohio, also has beaten former champions Danny Garcia, Andre Berto, Adrien Broner, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander and Julio Diaz.
“I think, if anything, if we do wanna talk about the betting odds and things like that,” Porter said, “I don’t think you take into consideration what I’ve done and who I’ve done it against. You know? And how I’ve performed. You know, I think that if you took into account that I fought, you know, Danny Garcia in his prime, basically, Keith Thurman in his prime, basically, just recently Yordenis Ugas. Out-boxing a Cuban boxer, I think that if you take all that into account, you might say, ‘Man, all right, I think this fight is gonna be a little bit more competitive and harder to choose the winner than I think it is going to be.’ ”
The 29-year-old Spence (25-0, 21 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, is younger, taller and has a higher knockout percentage than Porter. He dominated previously unbeaten Mikey Garcia in his last bout, but Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) moved up two weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, to challenge Spence on March 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
