Errol Spence vs Shawn Porter fight result: Spence wins on points to unify welterweight division
The fight ended in a split decision draw as Spence became the leading man of the welterweight division
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Your support makes all the difference.Errol Spence beat Shawn Porter by split decision to unify the welterweight division.
Spence, now the IBF and WBC champion, had to dig deep in front of the packed out Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California.
The scorecards read 116-111, 115-112 and 116-111 in favour of the Texas man.
The victory sees the 29-year-old take position as perhaps the leading man of the division and fights against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford await, with the latter the much more difficult to make.
Porter, a 7/1 underdog pre-fight dug deep and made it the exact type of fight he loves by getting in close but an 11th round knockdown was the big moment that shocked and saw the tide turn with the bout tough to score up until that point.
The fight started out with both men attempting to find their range, Spence taking his time and moving his feet well to pop the jab in and get out but Porter made it the sort of fight that makes him so feared in the welterweight division, getting in close and smothering his taller opponent to frustrate him.
It was a battle of body shots as both men worked around the belt line, and veteran referee Jack Reiss had to warn both men a number of times about potential low blows – after a night of cuts and bruising which saw Anthony Dirrell lose his WBC belt to David Benavidez, having suffered a horrible gash just over his eye, the main event of the evening was all about precision and tactical punch selection.
It was the seventh round that saw Spence begin to up the tempo as he recognised the situation he was in, utilising his double jab before continuing to unload low on the body. The man nicknamed ‘The Dog’ recovered from poor footwork to snap Spence's head back, ensuring fans and himself that he belongs at the top of one of boxing‘s most glamorous divisions.
As the fight went into the telling 11th round, everything was still completely up for grabs and the truest moment landed. A left hand to the chin saw Porter touch down on the canvas and in the rugged, animalistic like nature we’ve seen over the years, the now former WBC title holder shrugged it off and climed back to his feet immediately to see out the round.
Frustrated walking back to his corner, Porter showed he it wasn’t in him to give in: “I couldn’t drop my hands in defeat, I had to get back out there,” he said in the ring after the final bell.
But it’s Spence who will go on and continue to rise up the ranks, Danny Garcia is next and then it could be Manny Pacquiao or Terence Crawford as we edge ever closer to finding out who the true No 1 of the welterweight division is.
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