By Lem Satterfield
Two-time welterweight current WBC champion Shawn Porter called IBF counterpart Errol Spence “the boogeyman of my weight class” during Saturday’s initial episode of “Inside PBC Boxing” on FOX.
The 31-year-old Porter (29-2-1, 17 KOs) serves as a lead analyst on the Premier Boxing Champions’ studio show along with three-division title winner Abner Mares, whose initial guests were WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) and IBF/WBA 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd (23-0, 16 KOs).
“He’s [Spence] the boogey man. He’s the boogeyman of my weight class,” said Porter, who is zone in on his own first defense in his second reign as 147-pound world champion against 32-year-old, 2008 Cuban Olympic bronze medalist Yordenas Ugas (23-3, 11 KOs) on March 9 at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas as Premier Boxing Champions returns (FOX 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p. m. PT).
“Everybody calls [Spence] that now. He’s the guy we all want, but in the public eye, he’s the guy we all fear. He’s a southpaw. Those guys are always hard to fight. Strong left hand, but also a strong right hand. And like Abner said, he’s an aggressive fighter. He’s always in your face, always in your grill, and that’s what makes him the boogey man.”
“Do you fear him, Shawn?,” asked host Kate Abdo, known for her World Cup soccer coverage on the network.
“No,” Porter answered. “And that’s the truth.”
One man who definitely does not fear Spence is 30-year-old four-time champion Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs), who will pursue a fourth-crown in as many divisions when he challenges the 28-year-old Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) on March 16 on FOX Pay Per View (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT) at The Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, near Spence’s hometown of DeSoto.
Spence has advantages in height (5-foot-9 ½ to 5-foot-6) and reach (72t-to-68) in pursuit of third defense and 12th straight knockout against Garcia, whose brother and trainer, Robert, is also the corner man for the 31-year-old Mares (31-3-1, 15 KOs).
Mares, in turn, is a massive underdog as he reportedly rises from 126 pounds to challenge 24-year-old, two-time 130-pound champion Gervonta Davis (20-0, 19 KOs), a WBA “super” titleholder who, like Spence, is perceived to have superior advantages in size, speed and power.
Mares is after his fourth crown in as many divisions reportedly on February 9 at a venue to be determined in Southern California near Mares’ native Los Angeles.
The show also examined Garcia’s relationship with Robert Garcia and their father, Eduardo Garcia, who co-train Mikey, along with his grandson, Robert Jr. Eduardo was an amateur champion who later trained world champions Fernando Vargas and son Robert Garcia Sr.
It also involved commentary on a January 19 defense of his WBA “regular” title by eight-division title winner Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) against four-division champion Adrien Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Showtime Pay Per View.
Porter has twice served as sparring partner for Pacquiao, and rose from a 12th-round knockdown to win a unanimous decision over Broner in June 2015.
“Manny has been doing this for a very long time. Right now, he’s trying to prove that he’s every thing we’ve known him to be – an explosive, exciting fighter. The one thing we have to do is to remind ourselves that this has been 10, 11 years now since he’s been who we’ve come to expect,” said Porter, who told BoxingScene.com he believes Pacquiao can be the first man to stop “The Problem.”
“We shouldn’t expect him to be the 31-year-old or the 30-year-old Manny. We should look to see what he has now against Adrien Broner. [Pacquiao’s] starting off with Adrien Broner because he feels confident. That’s [Broner] a guy that has a [Floyd] Mayweather-like offense, defensive style, and then, if he gets past Adrien, then he’s looking forward to [a rematch] with Floyd Mayweather.”
