Porter’s Quantity Gets Nod, and WBC Title, over Garcia’s Quality

Published

7 years ago

September 9, 2018

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – For the three individuals charged with the responsibility of determining the winner of Saturday night’s Showtime-televised main event for the vacant WBC welterweight championship, the task must have seemed like deciding where to go to dinner on a given evening. Do the prospective diners opt for quantity, and head for the all-you-can eat buffet at the neighborhood shopping center? Or do they go for something of ostensibly higher quality, but with entrees off the menu that offer smaller, less-filling portions?

If the scorecards of judges Don Ackerman, Julie Lederman and Eric Marlinski, and punch statistics compiled by CompuBox, are any indication, Shawn Porter’s unanimous decision over Danny Garcia was a collective vote for the all-you-eat buffet. Porter, known for his frenetic work rate, unfurled an astounding 270 more punches than Garcia over the 12-round distance at the Barclays Center, but connected with only 12 more and at a much lower accuracy rate (180 of 742, 24 percent, to Garcia’s 168 of 472, 36 percent). The gap in power-punch percentile was even wider, with Garcia landing 139 of 304, 46 percent, to 134 of 544, 25 percent, for the eventual winner.

All that remained after the last punch had been thrown was for the verdict of the empaneled judiciary to offer their assessment. Ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. informed what remained of an audience of 13,058 spectators – a sizable portion of the red-clad Polish fans who had come to see cheer Polish-born heavyweight Adam Kownacki on his way to a unanimous, 10-round decision over Charles Martin had vacated the premises after their hero’s victory – to read the tabulated scores. After Lennon noted that the decision had been arrived at unanimously, both fighters’ corners anxiously awaited to hear which of their stylistically different approaches would be rewarded.

The nod would go to Porter, a former IBF 147-pound champion, who was seen as the winner on the cards submitted by Ackerman (116-112), Lederman (115-113) and Marlinski (115-113).

“Throughout the fight we thought we had a hold (of a victory on points), but my dad (Kenny Porter, who trains his son) wasn’t so sure, given what’s happened before (on close decisions at Barclays that have gone against both Porter and Garcia),” Porter said. “When I heard `unanimous decision,’ I just wanted to hear my name. The moment I heard my name, I was just, like, `Wow.’”

Not hearing his name called elicited the same reaction, if more frustratingly so, from Garcia, and it was much the same as he and his father-trainer, Angel Garcia, felt the last time Danny had fought at Barclays, on March 4, 2017, when the then-WBC welterweight champ lost a split decision in his unification showdown with WBA titlist Keith Thurman.

“He threw more punches than me, but I landed at a higher percentage of my shots,” a clearly disappointed Garcia said during his wee-hours turn at the post-fight press conference after the exultant Team Porter had exited. “I thought that would be enough to win the fight. It was a close fight, but I thought it should have went my way. The judges didn’t see it that way.

“It is what it is. That’s the way (Porter) fights. He got an ugly style. I don’t know how to feel right now. I’m a true champion. I thought I landed cleaner punches. My defense was good. He threw a lot of punches, but they weren’t effective. I just got to sit back now and see what’s next for me.”

Not surprisingly, Angel Garcia, the most vocal conspiracy theorist this side of film director Oliver Stone, saw his son’s latest defeat by pencil as some sort of deep-state plot that owed not so much to judges’ perception as to a more sinister rationale.

“We didn’t lose that fight, bro,” the always-combative Angel said. “It was b—s— politics. That’s all it was. Danny had the cleaner shots. We won the first seven rounds easy.”

Opinions will vary, of course, but even the staunchest Garcia loyalists – and they were definitely a larger, more vocal contingent than the Porter cheering section, not surprising given the fact Garcia was fighting at Barclays for the seventh time and was coming from relatively nearby Philadelphia – might concede that Thurman had done enough to win when they squared off 18 months ago. The Porter fight, however, left enough gray area so that the consequences of the verdict will be debated for some time to come. While Garcia, still a relatively young man in a boxing sense at 30, will have to assess a future that likely will require a couple of reputation-replenishing victories to again put him in line for another title shot, Porter, also 30, finds himself in a favorable enough situation where his options all should yield high exposure and fat paydays in the foreseeable future.

Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs), who has been on the shelf with injuries and whose vacated WBC title was on the line (he still holds the WBA belt), was in the house as was IBF welterweight ruler Errol Spence Jr. (24-0, 21 KOs), who is considered by many to be the best welterweight around and the path to the Willy Wonka-style golden ticket for all aspirants to the division’s most well-appointed throne room.

Spence entered the ring after Porter was revealed as the winner to offer himself as a true litmus test of welterweight supremacy, at a date that likely will come in the first quarter of 2019. Team Porter would prefer that that unification bout be held sooner, but Spence apparently prefers to first take a fight with another attractive opponent, WBC/IBF lightweight champ Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs), who is hot to move up a couple of divisions to test himself against a fellow pound-for-pound contender.

Asked who he would like his son to mix it up with next, Kenny Porter said, “Errol Spence, Errol Spence, Errol Spence. If anybody decides to do anything other than that, that’s not in our control. But we want to fight Errol Spence. I don’t want to see Shawn fight ’til he’s 40 years old. I want him to fight the prime guys now while he’s in his prime – Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Errol Spence, Bud Crawford. Great fighters should make each other great. Let’s fight.”

If the Spence-Mikey Garcia fight puts Porter temporarily on hold, the newly crowned champion might have to choose on waiting for Spence’s dance card to have an opening, or filling in the time with a possible defense against Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas (23-3, 11 KOs), who scored a workmanlike unanimous decision over Argentina’s Cesar Barrioneuevo (34-4-2, 24 KOs) in a WBC welterweight elimination, which was a part of the three-fight Showtime portion of the card.

“I want the winner of Danny Garcia vs. Shawn Porter,” Ugas said after he pitched a shutout at Barrionuevo, who seemed disinclined to engage. “I’m here to compete with the top-level guys in the sport.”

Although it had been widely predicted that Garcia-Porter would be a Fight of the Year candidate, and it wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, the best fight of the night – and easily the loudest – was the close but unanimous decision for Kownacki (18-0, 14 KOs) over former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (25-2-1, 23 KOs). So raucous were the Kownacki supporters – like Garcia, he was making his seventh appearance at Barclays – you would have thought they had been handed megaphones upon entering the building.

All three judges went for Kownacki by scores of 96-94.

“I think the fans liked it,” said Kownacki, who is ranked No. 10 by the WBC. “It was a good fight. I worked very hard to look impressive tonight. I proved tonight that I’m a top 10 fighter at heavyweight. I need a few more fights before the title shot. But it’s coming.

“I thought I won the decision a little wider than the cards, but Charles came to fight all night. He was in shape and coming forward and I had to dig deep.”

And the vocal support of his fans, who chanted his name throughout and with fervor reminiscent of how teenage girls reacted during Beatles concerts back in the day?

“The Polish fans were awesome tonight,” Kownacki allowed. “It definitely gave me a boost. It’s a blessing. They’re the best in the world.”

Martin, like Garcia, figured he deserved better than congratulations for a nice effort, and a nice parting gift that goes to losing game-show participants. “I believe I (should have) got the win,” he complained. “I did work on the inside and no one saw that. I did really good work on the inside.”

Not on the Showtime portion of the card, but nonetheless entertaining, was the 10-round unanimous decision for Brooklyn-born Amanda Serrano (35-1-1, 26 KOs) over Argentina’s Yamila Esther Reynoso (11-5-3, 8 KOs) for the WBO women’s junior welterweight championship. Serrano, a six-time world champion, said she believes the next move in her quest for something approaching gender equity is to get the kind of TV exposure the guys get.

“I hope this fight shows the fans that girls can fight and we can give it our all just like the men do,” Serrano said. “We deserve this platform and we deserve to be shown.”

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.

Post Views: 779

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Bernard Fernandez

Up Next

The Hauser Report: Shawn Porter Ekes Out a Win Over Danny Garcia

Don't Miss

Superfly 3 Proves a Success at Inglewood Forum

Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

3 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 1,336

Share The Sweet Science experience!

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

3 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 1,066

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

5 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-319-Rematches-in-Las-Vegas-Cancun-and-More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 1,703

Share The Sweet Science experience!