Porter wins unanimous decision over Broner in ‘Battle of Ohio’

Shawn Porter stayed calm and in control, which was what he needed to do to defeat Adrien Broner on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in a fight between former world welterweight champions looking to get back to the top.

Porter, a 27-year-old from Akron, Ohio, beat the 25-year-old Broner, who is from Cincinnati, by unanimous decision in their nontitle fight at a catch-weight of 144 pounds. The NBC-televised bout was billed as “The Battle of Ohio.”

Judge Eric Cheek scored the fight 118-108, Dave Moretti had it 115-111 and Adalaide Byrd saw it 114-112 as Porter improved to 26-1-1. Broner fell to 30-2.

But it wasn’t that close. Even though Broner scored a knockdown early in the final round, Porter quickly recovered, finished on his feet and was the superior fighter over 12 rounds. He never got frustrated with Broner’s holding tactics and having to chase him around the ring most of the night.

The final CompuBox stats showed as much, as Porter had a 149-88 edge in total punches landed and a 99-68 edge in power punches landed.

“That’s how you beat a great fighter — intelligently,” said Porter, who made $1 million. “We did everything we needed to do in preparation for this fight. Coming out we wanted to establish the jab and establish that we were the better boxer. I think we did that over the course of the fight and tried to stick in some pressure, as well. We established our dominance, and that’s what got us those scores that we got and the win.

“Honestly my dad (trainer Kenny) wanted a quicker pace, a faster pace. And that’s why you have a corner. I think if I would have listened to him better, I would have fought a little bit better. I got a little lax at the start of the 12th round, and he caught me with a good shot. He didn’t hurt me, and I was more stunned than anything. But it’s something to learn from.”

Broner, whose purse was $1.35 million, closed as a minus-145 betting favorite at the MGM Resorts sports books after being plus-120 on Friday morning. Porter was as high as a minus-140 favorite before bets poured in on Broner.

But he wasn’t able to dominate and use his speed. Porter was quicker, stronger and faster, and it left Broner having to resort to hold throughout the fight and spend several rounds on the run.

Tony Weeks, considered one of the world’s best referees, had a tough time breaking the two fighters, and it wasn’t until the 11th round that he deducted a point from Broner for excessive holding.

Porter said he thought Weeks did a good job, and though the announced crowd of 8,138 didn’t appreciate Broner’s tactics, Broner handled his loss in stride.

“Nothing surprised me,” he said. “I came to fight, and I didn’t get the decision. At the end of the day, great champions can take a good loss, just like they take a good win.

“I still will fight anybody. It don’t matter. I am a real animal.”

In the co-feature, talented welterweight Errol Spence Jr. improved to 17-0 with a third-round technical knockout over Phil Lo Greco (26-2).

Spence dropped Lo Greco 40 seconds into the third round with a crisp right to the jaw. Lo Greco already had been getting beaten up on the inside from a body assault by Spence that began early in the second round.

And when it got to the point in which Lo Greco no longer could defend himself, referee Robert Byrd wisely stopped the fight at 1:50 of the round.

“I worked the body for a bit and got his hands to drop, and then I was able to go to the head,” Spence said. “That was the game plan; to go to the body, that’s always the game plan. To go to the body, and the head will follow. On short rest, I knew he’d tire and fade quickly.”

Lo Greco, who had been working with Las Vegan Jessie Vargas at his Mount Charleston training camp, took the fight on four days’ notice after Roberto Garcia dropped out for personal reasons. Lo Greco tried to be competitive and even won the first round on the three scorecards. But Spence was simply too talented and picked up the pace in the second round.

On the undercard, Las Vegas heavyweight Michael Hunter improved to 8-0 with a fourth-round TKO of Deon Elam.

Hunter, who dominated from the outset, knocked down Elam (14-3) once in the second round, twice in the third and twice in the fourth before Byrd stopped the fight at the 1:23 mark.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2193. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.