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Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter fight announcement press conference

By Jeremy Herriges

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 18: Errol Spence Jr. arrives at the Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 at The Sunset Room on July 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 18: Errol Spence Jr. arrives at the Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 at The Sunset Room on July 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic) /
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Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter held a press conference to announce their fight before the Pacquiao vs. Thurman pay-per-view event.

Saturday, July 20 is a big day due to the megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman. During the earliest prelim bouts, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (25-0, 21 KOs) and WBC champion Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) held a press conference to officially announce their unification bout on Saturday, Sept. 28 from the Staples Center in L.A.

Spence vs. Porter is slated for FOX pay-per-view and could be the most intriguing matchup of 2019. Spence brings a perfect record into this contest. He easily out-boxed previously unbeaten Mikey Garcia in March.

Porter doesn’t sport a perfect record, but he’s riding four-fight winning streak. He has wins over Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, and Adrien Broner, to name a few.

Spence and Porter have been friendly for years, but there was some competitive tension during their press conference.

Things started politely enough. Spence complemented Porter to a degree.

“Shawn is never in a boring fight, and I always entertain,” said Spence. “It will be a ‘Fight of the Year’ type fight because our styles mesh. Shawn Porter is a guy who tries to rough you up. That’s what he’s always done.”

However, the peaceful diatribe ended after Porter proclaimed that he’s “going to show the truth” against Spence.

Soon after that, both men went back and forth, trading barbs.

“I’m gonna beat you up,” hurled Spence. “You know I’m going to punish you.”

In addition to Spence vs. Porter, former WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez (21-0, 18 KOs) will fight current WBC champ Anthony Dirrell (31-1-1, 24 KOs). Benavidez was stripped of his title after failing a drug test.

Dirrell won the vacant title after defeating Avni Yildirim by technical decision. Dirrell was severely cut, and the bout was stopped in the 10th round where the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.

Dirrell wasn’t present at the press conference, but Benavidez was.

“I’m looking forward to reclaiming my WBC belt in my next fight against Anthony Dirrell,” said Benavidez. “This fight is overdue, and I guarantee I will be ready for whatever he brings to the ring. The fans are really going to enjoy this one.”

Next. Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman: Prediction. dark

Sept. 28 is quickly shaping up to be a big event. Spence vs. Porter is one of the more competitive bouts and will produce a unified welterweight champion.

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