This Saturday night at Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel in Tunica, MS, the undefeated junior middleweight Shawn Porter 10-0 (8) will face off against Jerome Ellis 12-9-2 (10) in the main event of Prize Fight Boxing’s PPV extravaganza ‘Boxing’s Future Champions III’.
Porter, a 2008 United States Olympic Alternate, just recently served as P4P King’s Manny Pacquiao’s sparring partner in preparation for Pacquiao’s beat down over Miguel Cotto.
The twenty-two year old native of Ohio made his debut just a year ago and since then has defeated all ten of his opponents, stopping eight via knockout, with five of his fallen foes never making it out of the first round.
And come this Saturday night, the hard hitting rising prospect, plans on continuing pouring out the pain.
In this exclusive interview, Shawn Porter speaks out on being in camp with Manny Pacquiao, his division, this weekends fight and much more, enjoy.
Benny Henderson Jr.
Give us your thoughts on Saturday’s fight.
Shawn Porter
Personally I think I am over prepared for the fight, I have been training for this fight basically for two months being in camp with Manny Pacquiao over in the Philippines and also in Los Angeles. I am just excited to get in there and do my thing.
BH
Speaking of Pacquiao, you were in camp in with Manny, what was it like being in camp with Manny Pacquiao, here you are a prospect with ten fights under his belt, helping prepare Pacquiao, who is considered best in the world.
SP
I basically watched the development of a champion; I saw what it took to become a champion. Everything he did that night against Miguel Cotto was nothing short of amazing.
BH
What did you take away from the Pacquiao, that could help you become a better fighter in the future.
SP
Overall, his training habits, the way Manny prepares himself, Pacquiao works very hard, like I said before I seen what it takes to become a champion, in order for me to become a champion one day I have to do what Pacquiao did. Manny worked no stop in the gym, it was great.
BH
You were in there with Manny while the cameras were rolling for the HBO special 24/7, was what the viewers saw accurate or was there a bunch a editing?
SP
I think I made the fight easy for him, what you saw on 24/7 was what was really going on, we worked extremely hard, he thanked me everyday for the work that I done with him.
BH
Were you worried about all the storms and all?
SP
Oh now, we were away from the flooding.
BH
What do you feel separates you from the other prospects in your division?
SP
I think I am have more of a pro style then the other that came out here recently, I am very aggressive and I have a lot of power and speed. I have adjusted to the pros well.
BH
You are twenty-two years old, undefeated, a hot prospect on the rise, how do you stay grounded?
SP
It is not hard for me, this is what I have done all of my life, I am a competitor and I work hard for everything that I have. It is what I have always done; to do anything different would be kind of odd.
BH
What are your hobbies outside of the ring?
SP
A little basketball, watch movies and some bowling, that is about it.
BH
What can the fight fans expect from Shawn Porter come fight night?
SP
I think exactly what you saw from Manny in the Cotto fight, total domination.
BH
Any message you would like to send out to the fight world or anything you want to say to your opponent?
SP
(Laughs) No not at all.
I would like to thank Matt Yano for his help on setting up this interview, and a thank you goes out to Mr. Porter as well as Shawn Porter.
Benny Henderson Jr.
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