LAS VEGAS — Shawn Porter beat Adrien Broner in a unanimous decision on Saturday night in a key welterweight matchup.
The judges scored the fight 114-112, 115-111 and 118-108 for Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), who got off to a strong start and held on after Broner knocked him down in the final round. Broner (30-2, 22 KOs) had a point deducted late in the 11th round after multiple warnings for holding Porter down.
"That’s how you beat a great fighter intelligently," Porter said. "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."
Porter sent a charge through the crowd when he stunned Broner with a short left hook that sent him into the ropes in the first round. Porter’s pressure kept Broner on defence for much of the first part of the fight.
"I’m OK," Broner said. "Nothing surprised me. At the end of the day, great champions can take a good loss, just like they take a good win."
In the co-main event, undefeated former Olympian Errol Spence (17-0, 14 KOs) kept his perfect record intact with an impressive third-round TKO over veteran Phil Lo Greco.
After a measured first round, Spence landed numerous body shots that quickly slowed Lo Greco. A short right hand floored Lo Greco early in the third round and Spence followed with a number of calculated power shots, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 1:50.
"I got hit with a few headbutts in the first round but I came back strong and got good experience out of this fight," Spence said. "The other 147-pounders will have to take notice."