Former world champions Danny Garcia(34-1, 20 KOs) and Shawn Porter(28-2-1, 17 KOs) went face-to-face Monday at a press conference to formally announce their showdown for the vacant WBC Welterweight World Championship Saturday, September 8 live on SHOWTIME from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.
After Garcia defeated Brandon Rios back in February, Porter entered the ring to call out the Philadelphia native. However, Garcia was unfazed by it all.
“This wasn’t the first time someone has called me out, and it won’t be the last,” Garcia said on Monday. “Come September 8; I will show the world once again why I am one of the best.”
The 30-year-old Garcia is happy to be fighting for a title again after losing it to Keith Thurman in March of 2017.
“I’m excited for this fight because I’m a world championship-level fighter and this gives me the chance to be back where I’ve been for so long,” Garcia said. “It doesn’t matter who it is; I’m just happy to be back and fighting for the title.
“The loss against Keith Thurman hurt me for a little bit. I thought I finished the fight strong and won. At the end of the day though, I feel motivated again. I feel more motivated now than I did before the fight. There’s something different inside of me.”
On September 8, Garcia does not plan to do much running. He plans on battling Porter in the center of the ring.
“There’s no pressure on me, I’m just going to come to fight,” Garcia said. “We can dance if he wants, but I guarantee I’m coming to bang with him in the middle of the ring. I feel I’m the stronger puncher, have the faster hands and am the better all-around fighter.”
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® main event (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will pit two of the division’s biggest names against each other, as the former unified 140-pound champion and former WBC welterweight titleholder Garcia meets the hard-charging fan favorite and former welterweight champion Porter. The consensus top-5 ranked welterweights face off for the WBC belt vacated by Keith Thurman as he rehabs from elbow surgery.
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