When asked whether his opponent Shawn Porter's aggressive style should be considered dirty (if not illegal), fellow former welterweight champion Danny Garcia's answer was short and direct.
"It's true," Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs) told CBS Sports during an interview on the "In This Corner" podcast to promote his vacant WBC 147-pound title bout against Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET).
Andre Berto, who was stopped by Porter in 2017 after what he described as an unremorseful barrage of head butts and elbows, couldn't help but agree.
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"I just don't get it, I just don't get it," Berto told CBS Sports. "In our fight, it seemed so intentional but I guess that's just the way he fights and trains. But you can just tell it didn't faze him to a point. It didn't faze him to stop with the head and try something different or stop with the elbows.
"He had cuts on both of his eyes as well and kept on like this is normal. I was like, 'What is this? Are we boxing or what are we doing? Hey referee, what are we doing?' Me just being the type of guy that I am, I automatically want to go back at him on some foul type s--- but [trainer] Virgil [Hunter] wouldn't let me."
Say what you will about whether Porter, 30, employs a dirty style, but the former IBF champion has certainly been effective at coming forward with reckless abandon and slowly breaking the will of many of his opponents.
The 5-foot-7 Porter, who is built like a running back in football, is well aware of the stigma his ferocious style has created yet isn't willing to tone it down on his quest to climb the ladder at welterweight and redeem previous title defeats to the likes of Kell Brook and Keith Thurman.
"My style is only legal in Brooklyn and a few other cities in this world," Porter said. "It's hard to do what I do, it's hard to remain consistent in it. I think that's why people have problems with it, because I'm so consistent and the tempo [at which] it comes. It frustrates you and it won't allow you to think. At the end of the day, if you're frustrating a man and not letting him think, I believe that is considered a crime and the only difference is I'm getting paid for it."
Garcia, 30, lost the title he'll be fighting for on Saturday via split decision to Thurman in their 2017 unification bout. Thurman, who has been inactive ever since due to multiple injuries, was eventually stripped of his WBC belt, putting not just a title at stake for the winner of Garcia-Porter, but an opportunity to face unbeaten IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. in a 2019 unification bout.
When it comes to Porter's pressure, Garcia believes he's simply a different kind of fighter than Berto ("whose will has been broken for many years") and says his mental strength will prevent him from being broken by Porter in the same way.
| Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
|---|---|---|
Danny Garcia -165 | Shawn Porter +130 | Welterweight |
Yodenis Ugas -200 | Cesar Barrionuevo +150 | Welterweight |
Adam Kownacki -175 | Charles Martin +145 | Heavyweight |
During their August news conference to announce the fight, Garcia also used the platform in a very strategic manner telling Porter not to expect an episode of "Dancing With the Stars" against him. In fact, he outright prepared Porter "to expect fireworks" and reiterated that he's coming to fight.
"At the end of the day, I'm going to come fight him and beat him at his own game," Garcia said. "What can you do when somebody is beating you at what you do best? Nothing.
"You want to come forward and you want to fight then you have to be cautious for the two-handed punching power with the right and left hand."
From Porter's perspective, there was a method to Garcia's madness.
"I think in order for him to win, he needs me to stand there right in front of him," Porter said. "He needs me to have that right range and distance and it's only predicated upon someone being right there for him."
Porter entered the ring following Garcia's one-punch knockout victory over Brandon Rios in February and engaged in a trash talk session that he believes helped him secure the fight.
While Porter believes he can crack the core of what makes Garcia so tough, he admits he will need to seriously alter the gameplan he used against Berto.
"I do think that [Garcia] has a will that can be broken but it has to be broken a different way," Porter said. "You will see on fight night. The fight that you see will be a fight that you've never seen Danny Garcia in and it will definitely have you out of your seat for 12 rounds."
Prediction
If one takes into account the exciting bouts that both Porter and Garcia had against common opponent Thurman in recent years, there's plenty of reason to believe this could be the most action-packed of the trio.
Garcia simply doesn't have the same speed or footwork as Thurman to dance away from Porter's face-first style. The result should, at worst, produce an entertaining version of high-speed chess as the heavy-punching Garcia will need to establish early through the means of his trademark left hook that Porter will have to pay a toll for attempting to get inside on him.
Should Porter prove successful at roughing Garcia up a bit by coloring outside the lines, a straight up brawl could easily break out just the same. While Garcia certainly yields the advantages of speed and movement to Porter, he just might hold the edge in the two categories that could ultimately make the difference in the fight: power and chin.
Garcia has a proven ability to rise to the occasion in his biggest fights with the level of performance needed to get the nod in a close decision. Even his lone career defeat against Thurman saw him rallying late to narrowly fall by razor-thin scores. Along with his toughness, the key to Garcia's ability to keep his head above water is his underrated IQ and technique.
The problem with Porter's breakneck style is that if he doesn't actually break you, he can be tamed into a decision defeat. Look for Garcia to do just that, relying more on heavy counter shots than speed and elusiveness to gain enough of an edge.
Pick: Garcia via unanimous decision.
