In 2013, Porter held the IBF Welterweight title after his victory over Devon Alexander via a unanimous decision. He succeeded in defending the title once when he fought and won over Paulie Malignaggi via TKO at the D.C. Armory in Washington D.C. in 2014.
Porter’s first career loss was against England’s Kell Brook via a majority decision at the StubHub Center, Carson, California in August 2014.
Next Saturday night’s fight against Thurman is crucial for the Ohio native because he believes he won the fight though he conceded defeat following the judges’ unanimous decision verdict. Porter thinks he would prevail over his childhood friend the second time around if he wins against Berto which could lead to a rematch against Thurman.
“At the end of the day, I’m blessed,” said Porter, 28, a native of Akron, Ohio, who fights out of Las Vegas.
“We worked hard. Keith is a great champion. My dad [trainer Ken Porter] says to keep your head up. I think I won the fight, but I’m satisfied, because the competitor came out tonight,” he added.
Porter said he will go after Berto same way he did with Thurman and this time he will go for a KO win.
“You can expect me to be faster than Andre. You can expect me to be more powerful than him. Expect me to try to knock him out. Y’all saw the way I went after Keith Thurman. I’m gonna go after Berto the same way. We are going to try to outbox him and set it up from there. But at any moment in time I am going to go after the knockout,” Porter told BoxingScene.com.
Berto (31-4-0, 24 KOs) is coming off a TKO win against Victor Ortiz in April 2016 at StubHub Center, Carson in California
Berto’s popularity soared when he was picked by unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, the world’s highest-paid athlete to be his retirement fight opponent. Berto lost to Mayweather by unanimous decision but was handsomely rewarded for the effort.
Mayweather has stayed retired from boxing after the Berto fight though he entertains the idea of coming back to face MMA artist Conor McGregor in a boxing fight.
