By Miguel Rivera
Last week, it was revealed that a deal had been reached for a welterweight showdown between former world champions Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter.
A WBC sanctioned purse bid was scheduled for last Friday, but it was canceled after the sanctioning body was advised that both sides had reached a deal. They will battle for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title, which was vacated by Keith Thurman.
Back in February at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Porter (28-2-1 and 17 KO's) entered the ring and started traded words with Garcia (34-1, 20 KO's), who had just scored a knockout victory over Brandon Rios in a WBC final eliminator.
Both Porter and Garcia have lost close decisions to Thurman - who was ordered to fight both of them in rematches in back to back mandatory defenses. Thurman, who has been inactive since March of 2017, vacated the belt due to lingering injuries.
Porter became a mandatory challenger after picking up a knockout win over Andre Berto in a WBC eliminator in the first half of 2017. And then he risked that title shot in the fall, when he won a tough decision over the very durable Adrian Granados.
According to World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman, his organization was provided with two potential dates for the contest.
Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions, which handles both boxers, advised the WBC of two dates, August 25 and September 1, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
"They mentioned to me that [Garcia vs. Porter] will take place on the last Saturday of August or the first Saturday of September. We don't know anything else, we are waiting for them to give us confirmation," said Sulaiman to ESPN Deportes.
Sulaiman also said that he was confident of Garcia vs. Porter being one of the best fights of 2018.
2023-10-21 03:56:01
