In the most contested fight of Shawn Porter’s career he couldn’t overcome the patient and methodical Kell Brook. Before the fight Porter was looking at a possible Mayweather fight, now he’s wondering how he’ll pick up the pieces of his career.
Kell Brook was ahead on many of the analyst cards heading into the final rounds and besides the one judge that scored this fight as a draw it was a scored convincing win for Brook. Porter now marches out of Carson, California without his title and has to hope that the promoters feel that it will make sense for him to receive a rematch..
Now the question is who will Porter fight next. With Golden Boy working closer than ever with Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotions it seems as though any boxer in his weight class is available. If he can’t line up an immediate rematch with Brook will he try for a fight with one of the Top Rank fighters? Will a fight against Timothy Bradley or Brandon Rios fight his style better and offer him a better road toward redemption? These are questions Porter will have to answer in the upcoming weeks.
Before he does that Porter must fix the holes in his game that he showed tonight because anyone of the top flight fighters would expose him if he fought with this effort. He must realize that it is different when you are the one with the bullseye and you receive everyones best shot. Off days aren’t a luxury afforded to champions.
On the other side of the decision is Kell Brook who leaves the fight as the champion but still is relatively unknown in the United States. He will have surely have a long line of fighters such as Malignaggi or Broner that will hope to take advantage of an inexperienced champion. He seems up to the challenge.