Shawn Porter has put together the kind of career that would make almost any boxer proud. However, despite his list of accomplishments and current status as the WBC welterweight champ, oddsmakers have him a +550 underdog for Saturday’s pay-per-view matchup against divisional “boogeyman” Errol Spence Jr.
A fight with Spence (25-0, 21KO) has seemed almost inevitable for Porter (30-2-1, 17KO) since both were younger. Porter, who was boxing as a professional at the time, was called in as one of several pros to work with the United States Olympic boxing team where Spence was preparing for the 2012 games. The familiarity between the two has been mistakingly painted as a friendship by the media, Porter told Brian Campbell on CBS Sports’ “State of Combat” podcast.
“They chose myself because my dad was a part of the Olympic program,” Porter said. “Freddie Roach, I think was going to be a coach or something like that, so he took a few of his fighters out there and we just trained with the 2012 Olympic team for a week. Errol Spence and myself did probably two to four rounds of sparring back then. Outside of that, it was always the norm. The boxing community is small so you see these guys everywhere you go. It’s always polite and cordial. I think the friendship that maybe has been painted or portrayed by the media isn’t exactly the friendship we have even though we’ve always been polite or cordial with each other.”
