The view from ringside: Shawn Porter defeats Danny Garcia via unanimous decision

This past Saturday, Shawn Porter defeated Danny Garcia and claimed the WBC Welterweight title. Now a two-time champion, Porter figures to be involved in some big fights going forward.

In an excellent and very competitive fight, Shawn Porter was able to earn a unanimous decision victory over Danny Garcia, claiming the vacant WBC welterweight title. The official scores were 115-113 (twice) and 116-112 all in favor of Porter, however, many ringside observers scored the fight 114-114, as well as quite a few with a score of 115-113 in favor of Garcia.

There were very few clear rounds, and most could have gone either way. Garcia was landing the cleaner punches, and at a higher connection percentage, but Porter outworked him at many points, stealing rounds with his relentless aggression and Garcia’s occasional reluctance to throw punches. Sitting ringside, I unofficially scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Garcia, but I had absolutely no problem with any of the judges’ scores, it was that hard of a fight to judge.

It was about as close to a 50/50 fight as you can get on paper, and it lived up to the expectations. On top of being competitive, it was an exciting fight to watch, and the 13,058 fans who were in attendance all left pleased.

With the win, Porter became a two-time welterweight champion, putting himself in position for a unification fight against any of the other champions in the division.

One potential unification fight would be a rematch with current WBA champion Keith Thurman, who was formerly the WBC champion until he vacated said title. If and when he decides to come back, he will likely need at least one tune-up fight before jumping in to a unification fight, so that does not seem to likely to happen in the near future.

The WBA welterweight champion is Terrence Crawford, who is currently ranked number two in our pound for pound list, but is signed with Bob Arum and Top Rank. While making a fight with Crawford would not be totally impossible, it does not seem likely that Porter would go through the hassle when there are fights available that are just as big and a lot easier to make.

That leaves IBF champion Errol Spence Jr., who was sitting ringside on Saturday. Following the fight, Spence entered the ring to call out the newly crowned champion. Spence proclaimed, “The same way that you called Danny out, I’m going to call you out.” Porter also expressed his interest in making the fight, and typically when that happens, the fight tends to get made.

With both fighters signed to Al Haymon, this fight is fairly easy to make, and unlike Thurman, Spence is active and ready to go.

As for Garcia, it is back to the drawing board. His two losses are to some of the best the division has to offer, and both were incredibly competitive. He figures to stay in the mix in the division, but his days at champion appear to be over. A trainer change might be of benefit to him, but for now he figures to stay among the best of the rest of the division.

The welterweight division is stacked at the moment, and Porter is right in the middle of it. Whether it is a rematch with Thurman or a fight with Spence, fans will be in for a treat.