Porter vs Berto Headlines the Barclay’s Center showdown on Saturday, April 22 – A pair of former welterweight world champion lock up this Saturday night at the Barclays Center as Showtime Boxing returns to Brooklyn with a full night of fights.
Former IBF welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter (26-2-1) takes on former WBC welterweight world champion Andre Berto (31-4) in the evening’s main event. Both men find themselves in need of a win to stay relevant in what is considered boxing’s most talent-laden weight class.
We last saw Shawn Porter in June of 2016 when he lost a narrow unanimous decision to WBA world champion Keith Thurman to lose his second world title fight in a row. He has won two fights in a row before that and Porter lost his IBF world title to Kell Brook in August of 2014 so he has now been more than two years removed from the world title picture. Porter and his camp still believe he is the best welterweight in the world and he is focused on getting a belt back around his waist. The winner is set to challenge Thurman again and that is a huge motivator for Porter, who feels he won the first fight.
As for Berto, it has been more than five years since he held a world title. He is best remembered not for his title reign which saw him make five successful title defenses before losing the title to Victor Ortiz, but for his September of 2015 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in what was Floyd’s retirement fight. He last fought in April of last year when he avenged his loss to Ortiz with a stiff fourth round knock out of his rival and that fight should serve as evidence that Berto is not ready for the retirement farm and that he still has the fire and will to win left in him.
The co-feature bout sees WBC world super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo (28-0) taking on Charles Hatley (26-1-1). Charlo is making the first title defense of the belt he won this past May when he came from behind to stop John Jackson in the 8th round of their match. Charlo is the twin brother of former world champion Jermall Charlo, who recently vacated a world title to move up and campaign at middleweight. Hatley earned his world title shot in late 2015 when he traveled to Australia and defeated veteran Anthony Mundine and he has been waiting for his shot ever since. Hatley is going to bring hunger and all the waiting has made him ornery in the fight build-up but common thinking is that Charlo brings too much skill to the table in this fight.
A vacant WBO world title at bantamweight is in play among the women as Brooklyn’s own Amanda Serrano (31-1-1) faces off against Dahiana Santana (35-8) of the Dominican Republic in a match the sports books may post a line on later.
Porter vs Berto Headlines Barclays Center Saturday
Check back closer to fight time to see if any of the other fights on the card have popped up at the sports books.
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York – Showtime
Welterweight 12 rounds –
Andre Berto +470 o9½ -300
Shawn Porter -640 u9½ +240
Super Welterweight 12 rounds –
Charles Hatley +975
Jermell Charlo -1475
Porter vs Berto Headlines Barclays Center Saturday / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science, where the best boxing writers write.
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