All Shawn Porter had to do to earn another shot at Keith Thurman was get by former three-time welterweight champion Andre Berto.
Porter earned that shot by defeating Berto by ninth-round TKO and now awaits his chance to avenge his loss to Thurman on Premier Boxing Champions last June.
Berto came out in the first round and exposed Porter’s weakness by using his left hand and was the more effective fighter. But soon after, the fight belonged to Porter.
Porter’s in-your-face style frustrated Berto at times and proved to be effective. That style resulted in multiple gashes opening the eyes of both Berto and Porter. Some were in part to accidental headbutts.
After the first clash of heads in the second round, Porter knocked Berto down with a flush right hook.
Porter’s constant pressure throughout the fight turned the typically high-octane Berto into more a defensive fighter.
“Showtime” had shaky sixth and seventh rounds, but in the eighth round, he kicked into high gear. Porter forced Berto to the ropes and blasted his head and body throughout the round. It’s a testament to Berto that he finished out the eighth.
In the ninth round and the end of the fight, Berto and Porter clashed heads again but this time it affected Berto and Porter smelled blood. Berto was knocked partially through the ropes which were scored a knockdown by referee Mark Nelson. Porter came right back and blasted Berto with a right hand which sent Berto backing to the ropes again. Nelson had seen enough and stopped the fight.
Porter runs his record to 27-2 and was joined by Thurman in the ring after the fight. While he was impressed by Porter’s showing, when pressed by Jim Gray, Thurman didn’t seem too eager to get back in there with Porter.
Berto (31-5) is now 4-5 in his last nine fights and was unsure on what his next step will be.
