Shawn Porter wonders whether Errol Spence Jr. is trying to convince himself he can knock out Porter. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Porter’s chin has been one of his most obvious assets during a pro career that’s in its 11 year. His two losses were 12-round decision defeats to Kell Brook, who beat him by majority decision in August 2014, and Keith Thurman, who narrowly won a unanimous decision over Porter in June 2016.
The rugged Porter’s durability hasn’t stopped Spence from predicting he’ll become the first fighter to knock out the WBC welterweight champion when they meet September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“You know what? I’m not surprised to hear him say he wants to knock me out,” Porter said Tuesday on a conference call. “He’s even said, ‘I’m going to knock you out.’ I’m not surprised to hear him say that because I know his mentality. I know who he is as a person. He’s very, very driven and competitive, and I get that. The part about it for me is he may be trying to psych himself [up], into thinking he can do it.”
Porter promised that’ll be far easier said than done, even for a big, strong southpaw such as Spence.
“I think I have a proven chin,” Porter explained. “I’ll go on record for saying no fighter really wants to prove his chin. You know, we never wanna get hit, get hurt or anything like that. But, you know, I’ve taken some pretty good shots from some top guys out there and I’ve managed to handle that and win and come out on top.
“So, when it comes to Errol Spence, I don’t look at his power any different than anyone else I’ve been in the ring with. And I’m gonna go at him like I’ve gone at Keith Thurman, like I’ve gone at Danny Garcia, like I’ve gone at Yordenis Ugas, Devon Alexander. You know, the list goes on from there.”
The 29-year-old Spence (25-0, 21 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, has knocked out 84 percent of his opponents. The 31-year-old Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) has knocked out only 52 percent of his foes.
Their 12-round fight Spence’s IBF and Porter’s WBC welterweight titles will headline a four-fight FOX Sports Pay-Per-View telecast a week from Saturday night.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.