When Floyd Mayweather’s boxing career began winding down, and MMA began to assert itself as a major sport to be reckoned with, boxing was taking a hit on all sides, many claiming that the sport was down for the count.
But while it was down, it definitely wasn’t out. PBC was launched, and while they had their growing pains, just like any other new sports entity, they breathed life back into the sport and eventually found their stride. They introduced fans to new faces, reduced the number of fights and broadcast partners and, most importantly, created bigger cards featuring great fights between great fighters.
One of the brightest, and most hotly contested, divisions in boxing in the welterweight division, with fighters like Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Terrence Crawford and, of course, Manny Pacquiao, the fight to be the king of the division is fierce.
On September 28th, Spence and Porter will face off for the WBC and IBF Welterweight Championship, and if the pre-fight hype is an indication of what the fight will produce, boxing will continue its ascent back up the sporting ranks.
On Saturday night, the live “PBC Countdown: Errol Spence Jr. Vs. Shawn Porter” show on FOX drew and average of 604,000 viewers, the highest rating for the show in 2019 and the second highest rating for the show since it launched last December. That show, featuring the Charlo brothers, pulled in an average of 705,000 viewers.
“He doesn’t have the skills to beat me,” Spence said on the show. “I’m not worried about Shawn boxing like he did with Ugas, or with Danny Garcia. He’s gonna have no choice but to come forward. Period.”
“The fact remains the same, I’m never going to stop.” responded Porter. “You can say you’re going to do this, you’re going to do that, but do you really have what it takes to stop me?”
Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) vs Porter (30-2,-1, 17 KOs) will be the hard hitting main event on the FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event on September 28th in Los Angeles.
