Shawn Porter vs. Adrien Broner
A lot of times in the world of boxing fighters are protected and put in the ring with an opponent they can easily beat. Other times, like this Saturday night, boxing fans get a great fight between two young pugilists that seems like it could be a toss up. Saturday night the PBC once again comes to NBC and the card will be headlined by a very interesting fight between Shawn Porter and Adrien Broner, two fighters who have been impressive in their young careers but also have some questions to answer. It should be a very even fight and it is scheduled to go 12 rounds in the welterweight division. However, the fight will actually take place at a catchweight of 144 pounds and there is a clause that restricts the fighters from rehydrating over 10 pounds. This is especially helpful for the smaller Broner who had a brief run as a welterweight before moving down to the junior welterweight division.
The style of Porter is a strange one. He is an orthodox fighter with a very aggressive style. While his athleticism can't be questioned his boxing skills can be. Porter often leaps in with his punches and gets out of position which leaves him vulnerable. While Porter is exactly a power puncher he can wear an opponent down over the course of a fight. His hands are pretty quick and he flashes a nice jab and straight right hand. On the inside Porter does a nice job of landing uppercuts and left hooks and opponents also have to keep an eye out for his overhand right. However, against skilled boxers Porter's aggressive, leaping in style doesn't always work.
Porter's flaws were most noticeable when he took on the ultra slick Kell Brook. Brook was able to use Porter's aggression against him and used his jab and footwork to outbox Porter who seems overexcited at times, like a child running into a toy store but tripping before they get to the door. That fight against Brook represents Porter's only career loss and even with that loss his resume is an impressive one and he holds a record of 25-1-1 with 16 knockouts. The best performances of Porter's career were a dominant win over Devon Alexander and a brutal stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi. Following his win over Alexander many people viewed Porter is a serious threat to everyone in the welterweight division, and a win over Broner could get people buzzing again.
As far as boxing skills go Broner seems to have them all. He has quick hands, good defense, and knockout power, at least he does when he takes the sport seriously. Broner is still troubled by weight problems between fights and a lack of discipline because he likes to think of himself as a rapper and regularly goes on tour. However, when Broner is properly prepared he has a very skilled pugilist. Broner is an orthodox fighter with a quick jab he can land up or down. Broner also has a lightning fast straight right hand and a left hook he can tap you with or put a lot behind to do damage with. At lighter weights when he was the bigger fighter Broner looked excellent on defense and while his defense hasn't looked as good recently he can still get it done when he needs to. The other knock against Broner is that sometimes he won't throw many punches and looks to counter too much, but that lack of output may be from his lack of conditioning between bouts.
This will be an important fight for Broner who many fans still aren't sold on. As a junior lightweight and lightweight fighter Broner looked like the second coming of Floyd Mayweather, even using the shoulder roll to avoid punches. However, when Broner moved up to the welterweight division he squeaked by with a win over Paulie Malignaggi then was dropped twice and beat by Marcos Maidana. Since that loss Broner has gone 3-0, pushing his overall record to 30-1 with 22 knockouts. In his lat bout he looked dominant in a complete shutout of slugger John Molina but Porter isn't the stationary fighter that Molina is, so don't expect Broner to make it look that easy on Saturday night.
Pretty simply this is a toss up fight. Broner may have the sharper skills but he can get lazy in fights and can also be overconfident. Porter may not have as high of a ceiling as Broner but his punch output is higher and he is much more aggressive. If Porter brings the fight to Broner and throws more punches he could win the fight on the cards. However, if Porter gets overaggressive Broner may be able to counter him and move all night and control the action. Whichever way this fight plays out chances are it will be a good one that is close for as long as it lasts.
PREDICTION: Shawn Porter is a good fighter but he may be overrated. On the other hand Adrien Broner may be overlooked because of his brash personality and lack of discipline outside the ring. On Saturday though Broner's skills will shine through and he will be able to pick Porter apart with his quick counter punches on his way to a majority decision win.
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| It remains to be seen how good Porter actually is |
Porter's flaws were most noticeable when he took on the ultra slick Kell Brook. Brook was able to use Porter's aggression against him and used his jab and footwork to outbox Porter who seems overexcited at times, like a child running into a toy store but tripping before they get to the door. That fight against Brook represents Porter's only career loss and even with that loss his resume is an impressive one and he holds a record of 25-1-1 with 16 knockouts. The best performances of Porter's career were a dominant win over Devon Alexander and a brutal stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi. Following his win over Alexander many people viewed Porter is a serious threat to everyone in the welterweight division, and a win over Broner could get people buzzing again.
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| Broner is still a frustrating phenom to many fans |
This will be an important fight for Broner who many fans still aren't sold on. As a junior lightweight and lightweight fighter Broner looked like the second coming of Floyd Mayweather, even using the shoulder roll to avoid punches. However, when Broner moved up to the welterweight division he squeaked by with a win over Paulie Malignaggi then was dropped twice and beat by Marcos Maidana. Since that loss Broner has gone 3-0, pushing his overall record to 30-1 with 22 knockouts. In his lat bout he looked dominant in a complete shutout of slugger John Molina but Porter isn't the stationary fighter that Molina is, so don't expect Broner to make it look that easy on Saturday night.
Pretty simply this is a toss up fight. Broner may have the sharper skills but he can get lazy in fights and can also be overconfident. Porter may not have as high of a ceiling as Broner but his punch output is higher and he is much more aggressive. If Porter brings the fight to Broner and throws more punches he could win the fight on the cards. However, if Porter gets overaggressive Broner may be able to counter him and move all night and control the action. Whichever way this fight plays out chances are it will be a good one that is close for as long as it lasts.
PREDICTION: Shawn Porter is a good fighter but he may be overrated. On the other hand Adrien Broner may be overlooked because of his brash personality and lack of discipline outside the ring. On Saturday though Broner's skills will shine through and he will be able to pick Porter apart with his quick counter punches on his way to a majority decision win.
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Phil Lo Greco
Saturday's co-feature was supposed to look different. The original fight was a 10-round affair in the welterweight division between top shelf prospect Errol Spence Jr. and tough veteran Roberto Garcia. However, for the second time this year Garcia wasn't close to making weight and had to pull out of a PBC card. Had Garcia made weight in the past and for this fight it would have marked his third appearance on PBC, instead he has lost the respect of fans and will have to work hard to get another high profile opportunity. So now Spence will take on Phil Lo Greco, a veteran fighter in his own right but one who doesn't offer as much of a threat as Garcia did. Two things that haven't changed; the fight will still be 10 rounds and will still be in the welterweight division.
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| Spence looks like he will be a future P4P star |
Many fans are extremely excited about Spence, a rightfully so. At only 25 years old Spence seems to have it all and even looks like he could be the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather's pound-for-pound thrown. Spence is a southpaw with incredibly fast hands and a beautiful up and down jab. Spence also flashes a great straight left hand and his punching power is legit. The young fighter also has good footwork and excellent defense. It is tough to say what Spence's best punch is because his left hand and right hook both can do so much damage and his accuracy is a thing to marvel at. There are still questions about Spence considering he hasn't yet been tested by a top pro but he looks like he is ready for very big things.
As a professional Spence has been perfect. His record is 16-0 and he has a brilliant 13 knockouts and it doesn't look like he will lose anytime soon, at least not until he steps in the ring with the best that the welterweight division has to offer. A fight against Garcia would have been a great test for the young Spence and now all fans can do is hope that Lo Greco makes him work hard on Saturday night.
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| Lo Greco lost his only fight against a big name |
Lo Greco may need to fight the bout of his life if he wants to beat Spence. Lo Greco is an orthodox fighter who likes to do battle on the inside. While Lo Greco isn't a plodding fighter, he isn't fleet of feet either and he fights behind a high guard while he walks forward. Offensively Lo Greco is a two-trick pony, he throws left hooks and right hands and that is about it. He rarely jabs and usually just waits for his chance to wing a big left hook at his opponents head. On the defensive side of things Lo Greco is not good, mostly because he doesn't move his feet very well.
Many fans have probably never seen Lo Greco fight. His only name opponent was Shawn Porter and Lo Greco lost that 2013 fight by a mile wide margin. Following that loss Lo Greco took all of 2014 off but does have one win in 2015. The career record of Lo Greco is 26-1 with 14 knockouts but he has spent most of his career fighting in 8-round bouts so he isn't a top level fighter.
Certainly fans are disappointed that Spence won't be in the ring against Garcia, who could have given him a good test. While Lo Greco may be able to rough things up on the inside at times, he isn't a fighter who posses a serious threat to the undefeated record of Spence. If Spence does win this fight it will be time for him to go up another rung on the ladder but he does need to be careful not to overlook any opponent on his way to the top.
PREDICTION: The only real thing to watch out for in this fight is whether or not Errol Spence Jr. can be the first fighter to knockout Phil Lo Greco. Lo Greco has been dropped before but never stopped and the hand speed and accurate punching of Spence may allow him to be the first fighter to stop him. This fight will be all Spence and he will get the win via 9th round stoppage.
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