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It was not a pretty exhibition of Sweet Science. It was the more brutal force and will that brought Shawn "Showtime" Porter to the WBC welterweight championship against Danny Garcia on Saturday night at Barclays Center.
Thanks to an incessant attack that kept Garcia on the defensive for a good part of the night, Porter was able to score a unanimous decision in front of 13,058 spectators. A former IBF welterweight champion, Porter captured the WBC belt left vacant by Keith Thurman, who was inactive due to an injury.
The three judges saw Porter clearly winning: 116-112 on one card and 115-113 on the others. The post scored the match against 114-114.
"This title means a lot to me," Porter said. "It means a lot for boxing and I wanted to be part of it."
With the title of WBC, Porter can move on to a unification fight with one of the other title holders such as IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. or WBO champion Terence Crawford. A fight with Spence in the fall seems more likely. "I want this fight," said Spence, who witnessed the fight.
Porter's fight with Garcia played true to form. The native of Akron, Ohio, said his pace of work would bring him victory, which he did. Porter (29-2-1, 17 KO) shot 742 shots at 472 for Garcia (34-2, 20 KO's). Porter landed 180 to 168 Garcia.
"I thought I had enough to win," Garcia said. "It was a close fight. The judges did not give it to me.
Porter had declared before the fight that he would make Garcia miss several of his shots. But that was not the case at the start of the bout when the Philadelphia native picked up a right hand at the end of the first run and a right hand counter at the start of the second.
Porter was more boxer than puncher at the start of the fight, bouncing on his toes and trying to pull his jab into Garcia's straight gloves. It was as if Porter was trying to be more counter-attacking than the pressure fighter for which he was known.
Porter became more aggressive in the fourth round, trying to rush on Garcia and smother him with punches. But Garcia stayed fast, escaping the danger before responding with a personal attack.
Porter had no plan B, so in the sixth inning, he was trying to take Garcia, ready to attack the body. The two men clashed in the seventh when Porter finally closed the distance and started scoring with bodily injury.
Although he did not have much style, Porter was the busiest fighter in the middle of the round, forcing Garcia to be on the defensive and to fight.
While the fight was in eighth place, both men knew that the score was close, which increased their sense of urgency. Porter entered with his head down and arms swinging as Garcia reacted with short quick hooks to his head.
A jab of Garcia would catch Porter again, but that did not discourage his will. He remained persistent, especially at the beginning of the 10th, when he began to land with the frequency.
Garcia, resistant and durable, never weakened because he was organizing a rally to close the rounds. He was able to score with quick bursts when Porter left his face exposed.
In the 12th round, it was everyone's fight. Porter went straight to Garcia's body and generally tried to be the first to launch his shots. Garcia with the blood flowing to the side of his head tried to gather late. But that was not enough to convince the judges.
"He threw a lot of punches," Garcia said. "I had my tight defense, so it was not effective. I thought I had achieved the clearest blows.
Adam Kownacki (18-0, 14 KOs), of Brooklyn, remained undefeated in all-important battles against former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (25-2-1, 23 KOs ) of St. Louis. Amanda Serrano, of Brooklyn, won a world title in a different sixth division with a unanimous decision against Argentina's Yamila Ester Reynoso and Cuban Yordenis Ugas, who won a unanimous decision over Argentina's Cesar Barrionue.
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