Broner vs. Porter – “Showtime” and “The Problem”
 By Allan Cerf, Doghouse Boxing (May 20, 2015)
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It’s Shawn, “Showtime” Porter, versus Adrien, “The Problem,” Broner On Saturday (Tonight), June 20, on NBC Premier Boxing Champions- an intriguing fight on FREE, repeat free Network TV. I see this fight as a great, overdue ‘weeding-out’ process, which, if the fight goes the distance and barring yet another, terrible decision, should do just what boxing is supposed to do: separate by way of Charles Darwin, 2 highly competitive fighters. ‘Extinction,’ barring a truly devastating loss, is unlikely for either. What boxing fans deserve is a clear outcome that propels the winner – despite the bogus catch-weight – demotes the loser and clears a hell of a lot of smoke in the process.
Questions and disgust surround this fight beyond fisticuffs, which should surprise exactly no one. Namely:
The fight will be contested at a (not again!) catchweight which obviously benefits Broner who in my view, is not very effective beyond Jr. Welter.
Broner’s flashy personality and talent are matched only by truly idiotic behavior.
Will Broner’s “lucky way” with decisions many think he didn’t deserve, continue?
The allegations that Porter is taking performance enhancing drugs. Let’s circle back to these points. First, the fighters and the fight:
Adrien Broner is a quick, physically gifted fighter who at the same time possesses an impressive command of boxing fundamentals. Love or hate him, one must give him great credit for grit; in his fight at welterweight against Marcos Medina, he absorbed at times, horrendous punishment but hung in there and even made a fairly effective run of re-grouping and winning, though he fell short. Broner has patterned himself, most say unsuccessfully, on Floyd Mayweather both in deed and style. The shoulder roll he nicked from Floyd, the fluid transitions from defense to offense, the mugging and holding and yikes, forearms… all probably work better for Broner at a catch-weight which is undoubtedly why he insisted on one. Broner had an incredible 319 amateur fights, winning the Silver Golden Gloves.
Shawn Porter is a muscular enigma who has lost narrowly to Briton Kell Brook via majority decision in an entertaining fight the Brit probably just won. Brook is no slouch and may indeed represent a bar too high for Porter in the stacked welterweight division. Shawn, whose physique suggests power, is by record, really a boxer-puncher with moderate (only) power. His power, curiously, seems to come from adrenaline rather than those stocky muscles. He is game and his game is solid and his experience, tremendous. Yes, the Pro Game is different than Amateur Boxing as we are constantly reminded in tiresome fashion by the On-Air Teams of both HBO, Show Time and particularly, Teddy Atlas, but c’mon! The kid won the World Golden Gloves and was 276-14 as an amateur. He does nothing spectacularly well, but everything reasonably well, which in today’s professional boxing can take a fighter a long way and in some divisions, would be sufficient to win a title.
In his “coming out” fight, Porter bounced the talented Paulie Malignaggi into near-retirement, every punch hurting the American from Sicily, said Malignaggi. Paulie has a habit of giving full credit and then days later, retracting that credit – he was wiped out by Hatton and blamed his trainer and wiped out by Porter and then reconsidered the praise and instead awarded Porter boxing’s Scarlett Letter, actually four letters and they are P-E-D-S.
However, so have many others about many fighters, this writer, included.
Report Cards: (This time I use numerical grades.)
Adrien Broner:
Speed: 3.75
Power: 3.25
Defense: 3.75
Reach: 2.50
Experience: 4.00
Age: 3.50
Average of all factors: 3.45
Shawn Porter:
Speed: 3.25
Power: 2.50
Defense: 2.75
Reach: 2.50
Experience: 4.00
Age: 3.50
Average of all factors: 3.08
Pros and Cons:
Adrien Broner:
Pros: Relative Youth and the desire that goes with it… GREAT courage – as evidenced in his loss to Maidana. Tremendous experience, with considerable power and a very smooth style the features impressively slick, defense-offense transitions – and back again, much like some guy named Floyd. My negative regarding Adrian is really singular: Can he really do better than he has? This guy has always taken boxing seriously – regardless of his sometimes crazed behavior. He trains diligently and is in shape. He’s resourceful and tough. So – can he become Darwin’s next great animal- or what? The next great T-Rex, the next great fighter? I don’t know. I would honor him if he could, but at the same time, rather doubt it.
Pros and Cons:
Shawn Porter:
Pros: Like Broner, Relative Youth and the desire that goes with it… Tremendous experience, capable puncher-boxer, who looked devastating against Malignaggi. Porter is hit far too often and given his experience, this is extremely odd as he has a very modest KO percentage – in other words, he isn’t the kind who’ll “take 1 to give 2,” because the licks he returns are seldom devastating, the Malignaggi bout, in my view, a conspicuous exception.
The Fight: “Well Adrien, you got the catch-weight without too many complaints and now you have to perform. “ …If I were his coach, or NBC, that’s what I’d be whispering in Broner’s ear. I see an interesting, medium-intensity bout, which is for most boxing fans a good notch below what is desired, as Broner’s speed and slicks ultimately earn him a close, but clear, unanimous decision. Porter must come in with the mindset that he’s got the weight advantage and that he’s the heavy puncher. The problem is, in accepting the catch-weight, he’s not got that advantage and Broner in fact, has a better KO percentage. Anything can happen, especially when two dudes are punching each other, but an entertaining scrap with Broner ultimately prevailing seems likely. Here’s hoping Charles Darwin gets the nod too and at the end of the night, one of the pair is clearly the dominant force.
Circling back: Adrien, Adrien, ADRIEN! Where do we start, guy? There’s no way you beat Ponce De Leon and many say, Fernando Quintero. After 2 reviews, I do see you squeaking by Malignaggi but that was supposed to be your showcase, just as Porter’s knockout of The Magic Man, really was. There is also of course, Broner’s Home Porno Movie which won him no love… and most hilarious of all, Broner’s campaigning under the banner: “About Billions.” As your mentor, ‘Money,’ once said in one of his few good jokes, “Zab,” (Judah) “is a thousandaire.” Broner may be slightly north of a million (I doubt it) but barring multiple Super Lotto wins, will never have 9 ‘0’s in checking- even as Money pulls deposit tickets on YouTube showing “Remaining Balances” of, for real – 143 million. In the “to like department,” as mentioned, you have to admire Broner’s courage. I loved it when, after being nearly decapitated by Maidana in the second, Broner told his panic-stricken corner: “everybody calm the F Down!” I also think there may be a real human lying beneath Broner’s personae and for sure there’s a sense of humor: One of the only highlights (ever) in the Mayweather ‘24/7’ and ‘Inside’ passive-aggressive, sleep-A-Thons, is when part-time rapper Broner came into Floyd’s dressing room and said of the Hip Hop Business: “Rapping is Hard!” And this from a boxer. It was the last thing you expected him to say. His candor and sense of humor might one day surprise even him.
Shawn Porter and Father (assisted they say, by God) are an effective team. They seem like calm, down-to-earth folks who really are close. The background material is familiar: the father’s background was horrible” and boxing is preventing the son’s from being the same. In other words there’s nothing that I know of to contradict the impression that Porter is a thorough professional in the ring and nice guy out of it. Having added things up though, my personal math does make victory a bit unlikely for him and I have a vague sense that for Shawn, unlike Dad – who Shawn says has a killer-instinct, “coming close,” may be good enough. If the fight turns out to be a classic, maybe coming close is acceptable. But in the boxing game, no fighter should go into a fight thinking that it is. And may PED’s have no role in Shawn’s game, before, during and especially after the fight – even if the tests, post this fight, are too diluted to catch anything, anyway.
Adrien Broner versus Shawn Porter, June 20, on NBC Premier Boxing Champions .
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