Spence Jr and Porter meet to unify welterweight titlesTweet Bryan at @BryanAGraham or email him 4.26am BST
Here’s a look at how Spence and Porter match up ahead of tonight’s main event. Porter is roughly a 6-1 underdog in the contest, a number that’s less a slight to his standing as a two-time welterweight champion and more a nod to Spence, who just may be the finest boxer in the world today, pound for pound. 4.06am BST
Hello and welcome to
Los Angeles for tonight’s welterweight unification title fight between Errol Spence Jr and Shawn Porter. Spence, who’s owned the IBF’s version of the 147lbs championship for the last two years, and Porter, who holds the WBC strap, are set to meet at Staples Center to unify two of the four major belts and set the table for even bigger blockbusters in what’s been boxing’s showcase division for the last decade or more.
Right now we’re two fights into tonight’s three-fight pay-per-view undercard. In the opener, Josesito Lopez dropped John Molina Jr twice before stopping him in the eighth round of a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout. And moments ago Mario Barrios outpointed Batyr Akhmedov for the WBA’s vacant regular super lightweight title, whatever that is, coming on strong in the second half of the fight to win by scores of 114-112, 115-111 and 116-111.