Porter-Brook: 12 Rounds Of Thought

My intitial thoughts on a great night of boxing! Kell Brook (33-0, 22 Kos) defeats Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) and becomes the IBF Welterweight Champion of the world.  Also, Wilder, Figueroa and Anthony Dirrell come away victorious.  

Round 1 – Finally… the judges got it right and boxing wins!! 

Round 2 – That was a quality card Showtime… that’s all we ask… three fights that MEAN something! 

Round 3 – Omar Figueroa vs. Daniel Estrada was some really good theater! Estrada couldn’t hurt him… so Figueroa kept coming.  His aggression is eye candy… so fun to watch. 

Round 4 – That was a beautiful counter right hand that dropped Estrada in the 9^th round… Pure poetry in motion.  

Round 5 – Figueroa said after the fight he wants to move up to 140… gonna be rough… but I like it! Imagine a Figueroa-Matthysse matchup?! 

Round 6 – Deontay Wilder…. Ya, nothing much else to say about that.  

Round 7 – Anthony Dirrell did what he had to do against an ugly fighter… no one looks good against Bika.  Another great story in boxing.  Very happy for Dirrell.  

Round 8 – Shawn Porter was catapulted into the next superstar in the welterweight division… and we were wrong.  I eat a lot of crow, because I was a believer that his style would give anyone fits.  

Round 9 – By no means am I saying Shawn Porter isn’t a good fighter and can’t one day be great… but he was really exposed by Brook.  His energy and relentlessness is second to none… but if you can withstand it and show composure… you’ll have a good shot against Porter.  Most were looking past Brook to a showdown with Keith Thurman… the question loomed, who was the next star? Props to Shawn Porter for fighting the best… but I think Thurman would destroy him. 

Round 10 – Kell Brook impressed me… in the biggest fight of his career against a young hungry relentless undefeated champion, he was able stay calm and believe in his abilities.  Not to mention he was in the champion’s country and not given much a chance to be victorious.  His skills are real… he’s a very talented fighter and his right hand is legit.  

Round 11 – It was great to see the judges get it right tonight… 2014’s been such a controversial year and this fight had all the makings of another debacle.  Porter’s been touted as the future of the division and one of Showtime’s up-n-coming stars.  I said before that boxing needed to shut the window of doubt regarding shady decisions… this definitely helped the cause.  

Round 12 – I wrote earlier this week that Shawn Porter’s style was reminiscent of a young Mike Tyson with a shade of Joe Frazier… and quickly followed up by saying that by no means was I comparing him as a fighter to the two legends.  While Porter’s side-to-side movement mirrors Iron Mike and his leaping left hook is very Frazier-esque.. he lacks the one thing that made those fighters elite; lethal punching power.  Shawn Porter has decent power… enough to be a successful fighter.  He really reminds me of Ricky Hatton.  An energetic fighter that can overwhelm a number of boxers, but won’t be able to beat the elite.  Is Kell Brook elite? I wouldn’t go that far… but I think we’re on the precipice of finding out.  I’d guess a showdown with Amir Khan may be next.  

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