New WBC Champion Shawn Porter Next to Errol Spence

NEW YORK – He was standing in the middle of the ring, his emerald green trunks mingling with the matching suits of his team, but by then no one in Shawn Porter's world could feel lucky. A close fight against Danny Garcia, the de facto fighter? Porter does not win them.

Except that he did it. On Saturday night, at the Barclays Center, in front of a crowd of 13,000 more seasoned spectators, the boy from Akron, Ohio, made a narrow but unanimous decision. Two years after losing on the cards to Keith Thurman and four to hand his title to Kell Brook, Porter is again world champion.

It was not the snapshot that some thought could be, but for 12 rounds, Porter, 30, would just not be denied. A title was in play, but there was more on the line. Win, and a pot of gold in the form of fights with Errol Spence and Keith Thurman appear before him. Loser, and it was the status of an opponent and, said Thurman at Yahoo Sports, "Shawn's style makes him the kind of fighter who will not run to fight."

Garcia was stronger than last February, against Brandon Rios, a tune-up needed to remove the rust after losing 11 months following a defeat against Thurman. Garcia tried to time Porter early, looking to land a crushing left hook when Porter came in. Porter Counter: Do not do it. Instead of rushing to Garcia, Porter kept the fight outside very early, moving around the ring.

"We wanted to make him miss. To make everyone in the crowd, especially the judges, see that he could not hit me, "Porter said after the fight. "It's easier to fight from the outside than when the guys are on the ropes. I am not a beginner to this. "

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The fight became more physical in the intermediate rounds, with Garcia landing more accurately (36%, by CompuBox) and Porter – who threw an additional 300 punches – canceling him with activity. Before the eighth round, Kenny's father and coach, Kenny Porter, sent a stern message:

"He begged me," Porter said. "He said," You want it, you have to go get it. "

Porter, swarming Garcia, forcing him to fight back, to hug himself to prevent Porter from marking inside.

"It was difficult," Porter said. "Coming back to the corner after the rounds, my father gives me the truth. He tells me to push harder, he will tell me sometimes that you have won this trick. Throughout the fight, we know that we had the fight [but] we saw the results of Danny's fights. Many tight decisions. When I heard the unanimous decision, I just wanted to hear my name. When I did it … it was so surreal for me.

Surreal – and lucrative. Spence entered the ring after the fight – and the press conference early in the morning – to declare his desire to unify the division. Spence and Porter are both represented by Al Haymon, both on Showtime.

"First quarter 2019," said Spence.

Said Porter, "If the fight does not happen, it will not be because of Errol or me."

Kenny Porter added, "We want Errol Spence, Errol Spence, Errol Spence.

Will they get it? It's boxing – anything can happen. Porter may have to make a mandatory defense of his title, and Spence has surrounded a fight with Mikey Garcia. However, Porter does not hide behind his title. "I do not want to see Shawn fight until the age of 40," Kenny said. "We want big fights now."

Saturday, he had one. Soon, he will have more.