Shawn Porter vs Danny Garcia

Former IBF 147lb champion Shawn Porter won the vacant World Boxing Council welterweight championship by taking a unanimous 12-round decision over Danny Garcia at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on September 8, 2018. Judge Don Ackerman scored the contest 116-112, while Julie Lederman and Eric Marlinski each returned cards of 115-113. Porter weighed the division limit of 147 pounds and Garcia 146¾. Steve Willis was the referee.

Keith Thurman had relinquished the title after a prolonged absence through injury. Both challengers had previously held world championships, and both had lost close decisions to Thurman at Barclays Center. Porter entered with a record of 28 victories, two defeats and one draw. Garcia was 34-1, his only loss having come against Thurman. The attendance was 13,058, and the division between Garcia’s Philadelphia following and Porter’s supporters produced a lively atmosphere throughout. Garcia received a disclosed purse of $1.2 million and Porter $1 million.

The early rounds favoured Garcia’s cleaner punching. Porter began more cautiously than usual, moving at range and using feints rather than charging directly into the shorter distance. Garcia waited for him to commit and countered with the right hand and his customary left hook. At the end of the first round, both men threw rights, Garcia landing while Porter missed. Garcia continued to find the sharper blows during the second and landed a hard left hook in the third. His punches carried the more noticeable impact, and Porter’s movement had not yet developed into sustained pressure.

Porter altered the contest in the fourth. He began closing the distance more directly, attacking the body and forcing Garcia to work in the clinch. Garcia remained effective when given room to set his feet, but Porter’s irregular advances and physical strength reduced that room. Porter did not simply rush forward. He used changes of rhythm, dipped low on entry and worked with both hands once he reached Garcia’s chest. The challenger from Philadelphia attempted to tie him up, and several clashes of heads occurred as they fought at close quarters, but Willis issued no deductions.

The fifth, sixth and seventh rounds were fought increasingly on Porter’s terms. Garcia continued to land the more accurate individual punches, particularly the left hook as Porter came forward, but Porter supplied the greater volume and kept returning to the body. His attacks often ended with the two men locked together or wrestling for position, yet he usually initiated the exchanges. Garcia’s tighter defence blocked or deflected much of the work, but he was being made to fight at a pace he had not chosen. Porter’s activity at the ends of rounds also helped him leave the stronger impression.

Garcia regained some ground in the eighth and ninth. With Porter occasionally standing farther away, Garcia found opportunities to jab and counter with combinations. His double left hook was particularly useful in the ninth, catching Porter as he attempted to step inside. Porter remained busy to the body, while Garcia’s cleaner punches were generally directed at the head. This difference made several rounds difficult to score: Porter was doing more work and controlling the geography of the contest, but Garcia was landing at the higher percentage and often with the more evident force.

The tenth was among the best rounds of the fight. Porter forced exchanges at close range, landing short punches to the body and an uppercut before Garcia replied with left hooks. Both men then traded openly in the centre, neither seriously hurt and neither prepared to concede the final word. Porter resumed his pressure in the 11th, using the jab more regularly on his way forward and working when Garcia attempted to hold. Garcia continued to counter, but he was spending increasing periods responding to Porter rather than directing the contest himself.

The result remained uncertain entering the final round. Porter maintained his advance while Garcia circled and sought the left hook. They exchanged repeatedly at close quarters during the last 30 seconds, apart from one clinch, and the crowd rose as the bell approached. Neither man had been knocked down or badly shaken, and both finished strongly. Garcia believed his cleaner punching had been sufficient, while Porter’s case rested upon pressure, body work and the greater number of attacks.

The statistics reflected the disagreement over how the fight should be judged. Porter landed 180 of 742 punches, a rate of 24 per cent. Garcia connected with 168 of 472, or 36 per cent. Porter therefore landed only 12 more punches despite throwing 270 more. Garcia held a narrow advantage in power punches landed and connected with 46 per cent of those he attempted. The three judges agreed unanimously on only four of the 12 rounds, demonstrating how differently Porter’s activity and Garcia’s accuracy could be assessed.

Ackerman gave Porter eight rounds, including the last three, for his 116-112 card. Lederman and Marlinski divided the rounds seven to five. The unanimous verdict was wider in appearance than the contest itself, but Porter’s victory was supported by his success in imposing the pace for much of the middle and later rounds. He had prevented Garcia from remaining at his preferred distance and made him work under pressure for long stretches. Porter became a world welterweight champion for the second time, having previously held the IBF title. Errol Spence Jr, then the IBF champion, entered the ring afterwards and challenged him to a unification contest, which took place the following year. Garcia had lost for only the second time, again by a narrow decision in a championship fight at Barclays Center.

I had Shawn Porter winning this. It was close, but not complicated. Danny Garcia landed the cleaner single punches and his left hook remained dangerous, yet he spent too much of the fight waiting. Porter dictated where and how the contest was fought.

People sometimes dismiss Porter as a crude mauler, but that sells him short. His feet, feints and changes of rhythm got him past Garcia’s counters, while his body work and physical pressure kept Danny occupied. Garcia had the sharper technique at long range, but boxing is not judged on neatness alone. You must take control, and he never did that consistently.

I scored it 115-113 for Porter. The 116-112 card was slightly wide, though not scandalous. Garcia had the cleaner punches; Porter supplied the work, pressure and initiative. Against a man with Porter’s engine, standing off and looking for perfect counters simply was not enough.