SPENCE WINS OVER PORTER IN A POTENTIAL FIGHT OF THE YEAR
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 29 Sep 2019
Errol Spence, Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) defended his IBF welterweight title for the fourth time and won the WBC 147-pound belt from Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs). The unification match was an action-packed, give-and-take, back-and-forth fight that received a standing ovation from the fans until the final bell.
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Two judges scored the fight for Spence. California?s Rey Danesco had it 116-111 and New Jersey?s Steve Weisfeld saw it the same at 116-111. The third judge New Jersey?s Larry Hazzard Jr. favored Porter 115-112.
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Spence is still unbeaten professionally, and is still undefeated in five world title fights. Porter has now three losses in world title bouts, as he is now 4-3 in championship fights. ?Shawn Porter is a rough and awkward fighter,? said Spence. ?I didn?t get off what I wanted to. He?s a true champion. He made it tough.?
* * *
Spence edged Porter slightly 745 to 744 in punches thrown and 221 to 172 in punches landed. Spence landed 44% of his power punches to 25% for Porter. 113 of Spence?s 221 landed punches were to the body of Porter. Porter averaged 77 punches thrown in rounds 10 and 11 to Spence's 64.
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At the opening round, Porter unleashed several blows to the body with Spence leaning against the ropes. Spence started coming forward and connected a right hook to the body of Porter. In the second round, Spence connected a straight left hand as Porter retaliated with several shots. Spence also landed a hard body punch.
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Both fighters fearlessly traded punches and the referee warned Spence for hitting low punches in the third. The fourth stanza saw Porter delivering a flurry of punches that pressured Spence to put on a defensive stance. Porter delivered a left hook breaking Spence?s guard, then threw another combination with Spence covering himself.
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The fifth round saw Porter receiving a straight left to the body from Spence, followed by another. Then Porter countered with a right uppercut that landed to the body of Spence. In the sixth, both fighters swapped body punches. Porter hurled more blows as Spence tried to hold. Spence in return connected a counter left hand.
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Porter hit hard body shots as he attacked Spence on the ropes in the seventh. Then Porter got his act as he danced around the ring occasionally throwing a few jabs that found their way on Spence?s face. In the eighth round, Porter tossed several shots then delivered a counter right to the head. Another right hand landed on the top of Spence from Porter. Spence landed his own right hand right before the bell sounded.
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The ninth round had both fighters exchanging hooks as Spence connected a hard left hook. Porter threw his own hooks and they traded body punches. In the tenth stage, Spence hit Porter with two body blows followed by a counter right hand. Porter threw back his own punches as Spence countered with his own.
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Spence heated up his attack and landed a right hook in the eleventh. He followed this with stinging jabs. Then Spence hit Porter with a booming left hook that dropped him. Porter got up and said "Let?s Go!" In the final round, Spence landed a left hand but Porter delivered back a heavy right hand. Both fighters exchanged blows but Spence unleashed two hard punches as Porter tried to strike back. Both fighters went toe-to-toe which excited the fans to stand on their feet cheering till the end.
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Several experts saw it as a fight-of-the-year candidate which excited the 16,072 fans at the Staples Center. ?He?s a strong kid,? Porter said. ?We both came in to do the job. I think I had a little more than what he expected, but he handled it. Congratulations to him and his team. We?re proud of what we did.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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