If there’s anything scarier than the way Errol Spence Jr. walks down and systematically dismantles his opponents, it’s the fact that the unbeaten IBF welterweight champion says he hasn’t yet come close to showing everything inside of him.
“I think my best is yet to come,” Spence told CBS Sports’ “State of Combat” podcast. “I think Shawn Porter might bring out some different traits, and you might see something different in a guy who is backing Shawn Porter up and beating him up mentally and physically by walking through him. You might see something different, you might not. It’s up to him to bring out something different in myself.”
Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) just might get his chance to show the complete package on Saturday when he and Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs), the WBC champion, unify 147-pound titles in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions card (FOX PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Although the 29-year-old Spence enters as a surprisingly massive betting favorite (as high as -900), there’s little question Porter has the possibility to be his toughest opponent to date given that Spence has yet to face a fighter with the combination of elite athleticism and relentless mauling that Porter brings. Yet the key in Spence’s phrasing was when he said “it’s up to [Porter]” to bring it out of him, which doubled as Spence’s way of saying that if Porter does, he’ll find out firsthand why no one else has been equally talented and brave enough to summon that from him.
As a southpaw with an Olympic background who is equal parts technician and destroyer, Spence hasn’t let the fact that he’s heavily avoided by top fighters prevent him from showing he’s among the best in the sport. The top of boxing’s current pound-for-pound list is at a unique crossroads in that no fewer than six fighters own a legitimate claim to the throne, with none having necessarily made a big enough statement to justify universal claim as best in show.
Spence, a native of Desoto, Texas, just might get the opportunity to make that claim should he finish Porter, 31, in the manner in which he has predicted. In fact, if the buildup to this fight has shown us anything, it has been Spence’s transition from quiet and humble athlete to a ruthless dealer in what he feels to be “The Truth,” which just so happens to be his nickname.
Even though Spence has years of history with Porter and his father/trainer Kenny that go back to his amateur days, it didn’t take but minutes at their press conference in July to announce their friendship to be pushed aside. After listening to Porter’s opinion about how the fight might play out, Spence leaped out of his passive shell and snapped. He went on to deliver a cold warning to Porter that if he would “knock your ass out” should the Akron, Ohio, product come to box from the outside.
Spence’s transition into an all-business destroyer only continued on the set of Fox’s “PBC: Face to Face” show to promote the fight. Although Spence never crossed the line in terms of talking trash, he was void of emotion in outright dismissing Porter’s talent while guaranteeing a knockout.
