Danny Garcia vs. Shawn Porter: Round by round results, scores, highlights

Find out what went down at Barclays Center in Brooklyn when Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter squared off for a welterweight world title.

The welterweight division in boxing is crowded with talent right now, so much so that no single matchup can produce a winner with a claim to overall weight class supremacy. Still, Danny Garcia vs. Shawn Porter figures to answer some questions about who belongs where in the overall pecking order, while making one of the former titleholders a world champion again.

Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs) once held the WBC welterweight championship himself, winning it in early 2016 but defending it just once before losing it to Keith Thurman in March 2017. He bounced back from his lone loss as a pro by stopping Brandon Rios in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Though Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) also lost his own battle with Thurman, he dropped the WBA belt to ‘One Time’ instead. He’s won two fights since then, though Saturday night’s bout will be his first action of 2018.

Thurman, the Charlo twins, Jarrett Hurd, Gervonta Davis, Adrien Broner (who got boos when shown on the screen) and Errol Spence Jr. are among the top boxers in attendance for the fight in Brooklyn. Chadwick Boseman of Black Panther fame is also on hand, seated right in front of the Charlo brothers. They got to see a scintillating opening bout between Adam Kownacki and Charles Martin, though the crowd in attendance was much less pleased with the co-main event, which pitted Yordenas Ugas against Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo.

‘Showtime’ makes his ring walk first, dressed in green and accompanied by his father as trainer, as always. He enters the fight on a 10-month layoff, most recently defeating Adrian Granados in November of last year. Garcia does not disappoint, wearing a two-tone mask for his entrance. One half is decorated in leopard print and the other has blood coming down from the eye like we’ve seen from him before.

The tale of the tape shows both men are 30 years old, with Garcia 2 1/2 inches taller but Porter with the slightest of reach advantages. The referee tonight is Steve Willis.  Jimmy Lennon Jr. handles the official introductions as usual on Showtime, and we are set for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing for the WBC welterweight championship of the world.

Round 1

Both men bounce around, looking to establish their jabs. Porter ducks in with a light jab to the body. A counter right by Porter lands on the way in. Combination by porter forces Garcia to grab after punching while his opponent was coming in. Swift times a nice counter shot that gets the crowd to respond. A lead left hook scores for Garcia. Porter lunges in wildly and is tied up. Both men almost connect on straight shots thrown simultaneously before the bell.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Garcia

Round 2

Porter lands a sharp jab and tries to cut off the ring. Short right by Porter is answered by a counter left hook. He bounces back away from a few hooks, as Garcia seems committed to moving forward. Garcia lands a left to the body, but Porter answers with a bull rush, lowering his head. A bit of a scramble breaks out in the final 10 seconds in a tougher round to score.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 19-19 after 2 rounds

Round 3

An aggressive rush by Porter leads to a flush right hand by Garcia, and he scores to the body too before Porter responds. Left hook by Garcia is on target before they tie up again. Porter settles behind his jab but can’t land his combo. Garcia’s right to the body is answered by a flurry. A short right by porter leads to even more grappling, and nothing of consequence lands late.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Garcia, 29-28 Garcia after 3 rounds

Round 4

Porter stings Garcia with some jabs, then gets the best of a brief flurry by both men. He’s stepped up the aggressiveness, landing two left hooks at short range. Porter shows off some good D at close range, then opens up with both hands. Garcia has been much less busy, though he tries to commit to coming forward again. Steve Willis earning his money with the number of clinches.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 38-38 after 4 rounds

Round 5

Right hand by Porter is on target early. Garcia is trying to time him coming in, and Willis wants the boxers to fight their way out of clinches. Garcia lands a stiff right, then a counter right as they move apart. Porter tries to Garcia along the ropes, but Swift uses rights to the body to fight him off. A chopping overhead right just misses for Porter. Two jabs find a home for Porter, and both fighters load up and swing away to no avail. Garcia jabs, then holds to end the round.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Garcia, 48-47 Garcia after 5 rounds

Round 6

Now it’s Garcia who is using the jab to try setting up his offense. They take turns coming in, both ending up in clinches. Porter lands three body shots in a row in close, at least. A counter right by Porter is answered by a Garcia left. Another rush leads to not much, but then jabs start flowing in both directions. An uppercut at super close range gets Garcia’s attention, and Porter lands another sweeping right at the bell.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 57-57 after 6 rounds

Round 7

Whew, Porter is so close to landing a wild right hand that looks like it might be the one thing that can break up this evenly matched fight. Willis warns Porter for a headbutt, a result of his wild jaunts forward. Garcia crashes home a right, but Porter connects with multiple punches coming off the ropes. He backs Garcia to the ropes and is way busier in this frame. Garcia digs to the body while Porter attempts to answer in kind. Counter right by Garcia but Porter was flurrying again.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 67-66 Porter after 7 rounds

Round 8

Double jabs by porter as he stays a step out of range. Left to the body by Porter but Garcia answers with a combination. Porter lets both hands go but mostly catches Swift’s gloves. Both men landing now, but Porter is once again throwing more of them. Porter swipes Garcia out of the way to dodge being cornered, and now both guys are landing. Garcia lands a jab, but Porter smothers him on the inside. There’s a serious exchange right before the bell as well. Close round.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 77-75 Porter after 8 rounds

Round 9

Garcia does well to slip all kinds of incoming fire. Some more clinching, but Garcia whips out a double left hook that looks very sharp. Porter goes to the body, but Garcia lands another left hook to stop his foe’s aggression. Porter is doing tons of body work, but Garcia is landing the stinging shots upstairs. His left hook has been clutch in this round.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Garcia, 86-85 Porter after 9 rounds

Round 10

An early clinch leads to a Garcia left to the body. Porter tries to do the same in another clinch. More mugging on the inside by Porter, and it’s fun to see how many body shots are landing. Good left hooks by Garcia, and he is still moving laterally very well. Uppercut by Porter and he tries to follow with head shots from both hands. Porter opens up with both hands, just plowing forward until Garcia lands a left hook. Both men connect with hooks in what might have been the best round of the fight.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 96-94 Porter after 10 rounds

Round 11

Porter’s dad told him to jab his way in, because he gets caught with counters when he doesn’t. He’s at least trying to follow that instruction. Potshots by Porter as they dance around. He lands a few more light shots as Willis implores them to work out of clinches. Strong jab by Porter, then a counter right hand. He tries to stay busy as Garcia ties him up. Counter lefts land for Garcia as Porter chases him around. Paulie Malignaggi likes Shawn’s footwork in this round.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Porter, 106-103 Porter after 11 rounds

Round 12

Porter continues the pressure, using a left hook and more before he gets held. There’s another exchange, with Porter staying busier. Showtime’s jab keeps Garcia from coming forward. Garcia uses his left hook to stop another rush. In close, Porter lands a glancing right hand. Garcia moves back a step and uses two hooks to keep Porter off balance. Left hooks again are the weapon of choice for Swift. Garcia uses a flurry to try to be the last thing the judges remember.

FanSided scores it: 10-9 Garcia, 115-113 Porter after 12 rounds

The judges score it 116-112 and 115-113 twice, all for the winner … and new WBC welterweight champion of the world … ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter.

In his interview with Jim Gray after the fight, Porter suggests he made good on his promise not to leave New York without the belt, though it wasn’t easy. He agrees that his activity level was the difference and that he had trained for that to be the case. He’s joined by Spence, who gives him credit for his aggressiveness. Both fighters say they’d like to fight each other next, sometime in 2019.

An obviously dejected Garcia tells Gray he thought he did enough to win, even as he admits it was a close fight. He rejects the idea that headbutts affected him and says he’s not sure what he’ll do next, needing some time to relax and consider his options.