Errol Spence Jr. walked into his bout with Shawn Porter as the IBF welterweight champion and walked out with WBC gold, though he didn’t get the finish he wanted.
Last night (Sept. 28), Spence Jr. and Porter did battle inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Spence Jr.’s IBF title was on the line as was Porter’s WBC championship. The bout went the distance and even saw Spence Jr. score a knockdown over Porter in the 11th round. After 12 rounds were complete, Spence Jr. was awarded the split decision win.
The official YouTube channel of PBC on FOX has posted highlights of the bout.
After the bout, Spence Jr. gave Porter credit for his toughness (via CBS Sports).
“Shawn Porter is a rough and awkward fighter. He made it real awkward for me and I looked kind of sloppy in there and didn’t look how I wanted to look,” Spence said. “That’s a credit to Shawn Porter. He’s a rough, rugged fighter.”
While one judge had Porter winning the bout 115-112, that total was overruled by 116-111 and 114-113 scores for Spence Jr. The attendance for Spence Jr. vs. Porter was 16,072.
Many now wonder if Spence Jr. will take on fellow undefeated welterweight champion Terence Crawford. Spence Jr. didn’t sound too enthusiastic about that idea after his win over Porter (via Sports Illustrated).
“The last time Crawford fought on pay per view, he did 100,000 buys,” Spence said, referencing Crawford’s win over Amir Khan last April. “I’m not worried about Crawford right now. [Top Rank] doesn’t really promote him like they should. It is what it is. We’ll worry about Crawford when we get there. But Crawford needs me more than I need him.”
