When Shawn Porter first learned that his upcoming fight against Errol Spence Jr. on September 28 will be shown on movie theaters worldwide, he described the feeling as "an eye-opener."
Porter, who regularly goes to the movie theaters, is soon set to step into the ring in what is perhaps the biggest fight of his career. He'll get to do so on a pay-per-view main event, a goal that he had set out for himself this year and now that he got the welterweight unification and platform that he had been wanting to get ever since he defeated Danny Garcia to win the WBC welterweight title in September 2018, he's relishing the opportunity presented to him.
"It's been a lot of fun. Someone sent me a picture telling me that the fights were going to be shown in theaters and I already knew that but to actually see it and have a preview of yourself at a movie theater is pretty cool. I'm at the theaters every other week so I'm going to do the best I can to sell the fight and let people know that they can go watch it at their local theater. I think that's awesome," Porter told Fightful in a recent media call.
But as much as Porter is enjoying the Hollywood treatment and having his fight be prominently promoted by FOX, who is handling the pay-per-view event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he knows that facing Spence won't be a walk in the park. Porter is already considered a relatively big underdog with many believing Spence's physical gifts and power easily overpowering Porter.
It certainly doesn't help Porter's argument for winning his next fight, according to many, that his last fight, a split decision win against Yordenis Ugas, saw Porter struggle at times in the bout. Although Ugas is a very solid fighter that presented problems in their title fight in February, according to Porter, he doesn't think that Porter will be able to present as many, or even more, problems as Ugas did.
When asked about the differing styles between Ugas and Spence, Porter sounded at ease when talking about what problems he could face against the IBF 147-pound titleholder. Porter vehemently believes that his speed will cause problems for Spence.
"I think styles makes fights. I think you said it yourself. They're two completely different styles. I think that they both have or in Yordenis' case had, things that present problems for anyone that are in the ring. I think for me I think my speed and my quickness against Errol Spence is definitely going to be superior. I think my foot movement is going to be superior and I think that it's going to open up a lot more opportunities. I think that Yordenis in the ring with me was a little confused. He was expecting me to have a different style than I came to him with and I think that really shook him up. I'm expecting to shake up Errol Spence," Porter said.
The welterweight division has always been one of boxing's standout divisions and the current kings at 147 pounds (Spence, Porter, Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford) has brought about much debate as to who is the No. 1 fighter today. For Porter, there is no debate and September 28 will show, once and for all, who the best welterweight in the world today is.
"I think that myself and Errol Spence, are the number one and number two guys. You call who you want to be number one and number two but the best part about it is one is about to fight two and one is about to get eliminated. I think that after I beat Errol Spence, especially the way I beat Errol Spence, I think that this will see me as the number one guy in the division," Porter said.
Spence vs. Porter for the unified IBF and WBC welterweight titles will headline the September 28 PBC on FOX pay-per-view event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Fightful will have live coverage of the entire card. You can listen to Porter's comments to Fightful on the latest edition of the Fightful Boxing Podcast at this link.