IBF World welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr says he is seeking a ‘calculated knockout’ when he locks horns with WBC kingpin Shawn Porter on September 28 in Los Angeles.
Speaking to international media via conference call less than two weeks out from the intriguing all-American unification clash, ‘The Truth’ offered his thoughts on how he expects the bout to unfold – insisting he wouldn’t hesitate to try and finish the fight inside the distance.
“I just want it to be a calculated knockout,” He said. “I don’t want to be going in just over anxious throwing a lot of punches and missing a lot of shots. I want to go for the knockout, be poised and pick my shots. I want to break him down and get a calculated knockout.
“I feel like I know when to box and when to bang and how to pick and choose my spot and things like that. So it just happens naturally in a fight. I feel like at the first round, I’ll know definitely where it’s going. I’ll figure him out, break him down and tear him apart or I’ll beat him backing up.
“I can’t wait – I’m in great shape. Shawn Porter comes to fight, and like I said, I’m looking for the knockout, so it might be Fight of the Year if he can withstand my punches for all 12 rounds.”
Though the betting underdog heading into his maiden unification bout, Shawn Porter remained unfazed when discussing the prospect of trading blows with IBF champion Spence.
‘The Truth’ will enter the bout with both a height and reach advantage, though Porter cited his history of fighting – and defeating – much bigger men throughout his amateur career as a reason why being the smaller man matters little to him. He said:
“I think fighting at 165lbs [as an amateur] is no secret, and the majority of the guys that I fought as an amateur were a lot bigger than Errol Spence. I’m talking about guys like Daniel Jacobs, who fights at 160 pounds, 168 pounds now.
“I fought against Oleksandr Usyk, who is unified champion over there in the Ukraine – a heavyweight now. I fought him at 165 pounds back in the day when we were about 20 years old and beat him.
“I have wins against Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade. Me and Andrade were one and one in the amateur division. The last time that we fought we were 165 pounds and I beat him to go to a tournament as an amateur. The experience is there. The experience against taller, bigger opponents is there.
“For me looking at Errol Spence, I don’t look at him like he’s a bigger guy than me. I don’t think he’s one of the bigger guys in the division. I think that he’s been matched up against guys who have made him look a lot more powerful and bigger and stronger than he is. Trust me when I say he’s met his match in this one.”