Shawn Porter: “I’m still here fighting at an elite level”
Shawn Porter makes his return to the ring for the first time since losing to Errol Spence Jr. back in September of 2019. Porter has taken time off and is looking for a roaring return to the ring as he takes on Sebastian Formella on the 22nd in Los Angeles, California.
The quarantine has set a lot of fighters back, but Shawn Porter believes he has benefitted from the extra time off. Since losing to Spence, he has been hard at work and the break forced Porter to take some time off to recover.
“I think the quarantine helped me,” said Porter. “When this all began, I just took some time, and I believe that it refreshed and rejuvenated me. It gave me the opportunity to make some adjustments and we’ve all grown from it. Once I knew that we were coming back to boxing, I wanted to take on the responsibility of bringing big-time boxing back. I’m one of the first big names to come back and I’m proud to represent my team and my family by getting back in the ring sooner than later.”
Shawn Porter may have taken some time off, but he’s been back to training since April. While all of his tools and facilities were out of reach, Porter had a few things that kept him in shape and ready to box.
“I took all of March off,” said Porter. “When the pandemic first hit, it was a little scary just going anywhere outside of the house. Ever since April though, we’ve been back at it. My dad lives right around the corner from me so we started off training in his back yard. Then we went back to the gym in May and I actually sparred with my dad for a few weeks, because we wanted to be as safe as possible. We just weren’t sure who else was safe to have around. But then in June we started bringing in other sparring partners. That was probably the aspect of training camp that was most affected by the pandemic.”
Shawn Porter and Family
The pandemic has allowed Porter to spend more time with what’s most important to him: his family. He’s worked on a great work life balance and knows when to stoke the fire.
“I have a wife and two kids now, so initially when the pandemic hit, I was just enjoying being at home with my family. But once my dad told me I had to get back moving, we got back to it. That’s just our relationship. My dad knows he can always count on me to do what’s necessary and best for my career. We played it safe, but no excuses to be made. It might be a pandemic, but my dad got me back to work safely.”
Porter is ready to get back to a world title. After losing his to Spence last year, Shawn Porter is hungrier than ever to get back to that stage once again.
“By fighting an eliminator on Saturday, we believe we can be back in a world title fight the next time we’re in the ring,” said Porter. “For me, any improvement is about more than just hard work. Everyone knows that I work hard. Now it’s about knowing what to do and when to do it. I can’t have mental lapses and I just have to make sure that I’m staying composed inside the ring. I also have to make sure that I’m always listening to my corner and that I have the right state of mind when I’m in the ring.”
While his opponent is a very skilled one, not much is known about Sebastian Formella. That said, Porter credits his team on getting information on his opponent and he feels completely prepared.
“The good thing about being Shawn Porter, is that people like me,” said Porter. “My connections have helped me find out information on Formella, including when he was coming to the U.S. It’s awesome to have people so willing to help me out. One person that I’ve been talking with has seen Formella train a number of times and their insight has been very helpful. I’ve also gotten seven or eight tapes of his fights. We’re looking to throw some wrenches into what we think his game plan will be and do what we need to in order to get the win.”
Porter warns people not to count him out. While he has three losses, they’ve been to Errol Spence Jr., Keith Thurman and Kell Brook, all great boxers. He knows his level of talent and plans to show it.
“The statement is that I’m still here,” said Porter. “I’ve had three losses, but I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m still here fighting at an elite level and that’s what they’re going to see in this fight.”
Stay posted to My MMA News for all the latest surrounding Shawn Porter and future fights. Thanks for reading!
