Shawn ?Showtime? Porter decisioned Adrien Broner by scores of 114-112, 115-111, and 118-108 after 12 ugly rounds of fighting?
Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, former IBF World welterweight champion Shawn ?Showtime? Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), from Las Vegas by way of Akron, Ohio, decisioned former three-division champion Adrien ?The Problem? Broner (30-2, 22 KOs), from Cincinnati, Ohio, by scores of 114-112, 115-111, and 118-108 after 12 ugly rounds of fighting.
Fighting out of the red corner in blue, gold and red trunks, Porter imposed his will on Broner from the opening bell. His strategy was to apply pressure, if possible to intimidate his capable by deficient opponent by delivering barrage after barrage of wild punches.
Broner, fighting out of the blue corner in gold trunks with white trim, used every trick in the book, and some tricks not in the book, in an attempt to get Porter off his game, none of which deterred Porter from throwing punches at anything that moved, and even sometimes at things that didn?t move.
Both fighters had their moments. The fight was closer than Eric Cheek?s 118-108 score indicated, in fact much closer. But Broner, perhaps in emulation of his ?big brother? Floyd Mayweather, seemed content to hold, run, and press his forearm to Porter?s throat, in lieu of throwing punches, as long as he could get away with it. He was warned several times by referee Tony Weeks for unsportsmanlike behavior, until Weeks finally deducted a point in the 11th round.
Even though Broner showed flashes of his old brilliance, he?s officially no longer an elite fighter. Porter is a tough competitor. He?s strong. He?s persistent. He was in Broner?s face from the opening bell. Broner seemed, for reasons only he can explain if he so chooses, unwilling or unable to engage. He seemed content to rely on antics that were effective against lesser fighters, but proved ineffective against Porter?s onslaught.
As the rounds seesawed back and forth, with most of the seesawing in Porter?s favor, the two fighters? trainers summed up what was happening in the ring. Between rounds five and six, Kenny Porter told his son, ?He cannot hurt you. All he can do is hold you.? In the opposite corner, Mike Stafford told Broner after round 10, ?You?re fighting the wrong fight, man. You?re fighting the wrong fight.?
Broner may be incapable of fighting the right fight against someone unwilling to lay back and absorb punches. Unlike many of his opponents, Porter came to fight, and he came to win. He was no more intimidated by Broner?s flash and trash talk than he was by Broner?s punches. The Problem landed a beautiful lead left hook in the 12th and final round that dropped Porter to the canvas. It was the only knockdown in the fight. But Porter got to his feet, perhaps a little shaken, yet Broner failed to capitalize.
Bigger and better things, bigger and better fights against bigger and better fighters will define Shawn Porter?s immediate future. Adrien Broner?s future, which once looked so bright, has dimmed considerably. But amid all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure.
He is not now nor will he ever be the next Floyd Mayweather.
Broner may take comfort in that illusion.
The rest of us do not.
