Shawn Porter refused to be denied what he’d been chasing since last June — a rematch with the undefeated welterweight world champion, Keith Thurman.
Porter earned his shot at redemption with a dominant ninth-round TKO victory over Andre Berto in their 147-pound title eliminator at Barclays Center.
He dropped Berto once in the second round and again in the ninth before forcing the stoppage at 1:31 of Round 9, as referee Mark Nelson stepped in to wave off the fight.
With the win, Porter became the mandatory challenger for one of Thurman’s welterweight titles — the same Thurman who edged him by close decision in their clash last year in Brooklyn.
After the bout, Thurman joined Porter in the ring and welcomed the idea of a rematch.
Throughout the fight, Porter was relentless in his attack, pressuring Berto non-stop around the ring. However, his aggressive style came at a cost — he suffered cuts over both eyes from accidental headbutts. The Akron, Ohio native (now based in Las Vegas) was cut over the left eye in Round 2 and over the right in Round 4.
Berto, too, was cut above his left eye in the fourth round and appeared more affected by the head clashes. Porter apologized afterward, making it clear the contact was unintentional.
Although Berto wasn’t pleased with the repeated headbutts, he didn’t make excuses. The former two-time world champion from Winter Haven, Florida, simply admitted he couldn’t match Porter’s pace and power that night.
In the ninth round, another clash of heads bothered Berto just before Porter landed a solid left hook to the jaw, sending him into the ropes and forcing the referee to count. Porter swarmed in to finish the job, prompting Nelson to stop the fight for good.
Now, the stage is set — the countdown begins for a long-awaited rematch between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter.
Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Cleveland, Ohio.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the WBC number three ranked contender and the former
IBF welterweight champion of the world, introducing Showtime, Sean Porter.
Joining us from his home in Winter Haven, Florida, his record stands at 31 wins, 4 losses
with 24 wins coming by way of knockout, a veteran of nine world title bouts, the former
IBF, the former WBC welterweight champion of the world, introducing Andre Berto.
A good clean fight, obey my commands and protect yourself at all times, touch them up, good
luck to both of you.
To expect a straight ahead tight battle, coming up with Al Heyman, and then beating Vikram
to get to here, a multitude of mistakes, it is the hardest one you'll ever face.
It sets up the payday, you have the most at risk, trying to head fake, right by Porter's
a look at his eye at the same time.
At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, I'm Dave Fontempo, glad you're with us wherever
you tuned in, throughout the world, two of the top welterweights, let's come together
again, as they're both leaning into position, and grubbing against that cup, is making it
a very active round three, Pete Thurman, beating Sean Porter here, here is good action from
that round, with Porter teeing off, just didn't miss Berto there, edge board with the hook,
watch the heads, as they look for positioning, Andre Berto finding a score, 24 knockout,
first round of the championship, we need a clean round here, come on, just box, come
on, let's go, just box, the fighters are like two rival siblings, who don't want to listen
to their parents, doing their own thing, there's no one who moves so well, that when Berto
jabs, incites a Porter right hand cut, Porter working the body, the heads come together again,
Porter himself, good right hand by, and Porter has blood as does Berto,
in the area of his left thigh, he needs to take better control than this,
this is more like amateur boxing, the entire flow of this fight,
being disturbed by the referee,
cornerment battle, as do the fighters, in this welterweight title eliminator,
incited by headbutts,
Porter has had the better body shots, and the heavier blows,
they're making their own rules on the inside,
those guys step with their left foot, when they start to fake,
they both know the move,
in here with some body shots,
fought off on the left foot,
there the referee saved Berto for taking a shot at the back of the head,
you know, it's true about styles make fights, now when you have two straight ahead guys,
it often sets up for a nice and tight battle,
if there are two guys who like to fight exactly the same way,
as we've seen in the Ortiz fights and others, he gets up and comes back strong,
left their big shots,
who've been affected by a natural disaster, this is a guy at the top of his professional ranks,
seeing much in the way of combinations,
who surprised him with a jab,
to the degree that Berto was,
in this round,
Porter unleashing, even the right hand that blocked it,
left hook and this is Porter, getting right on Berto, you know these guys are champions,
they know when it's time to close, and this is coming in to dish more problems out,
Porter just too strong for Berto, left hook and they might be mirror image fighters, but
Porter has more muscle, he is the winner by way of technical knockout, he is the winner of the WBC
Welterweight World Title Eliminator Showtime, Sean Porter.
