Chances are decent one of the two men who’ll seek to use their strength and speed and mental heft Saturday night get their hand raised in the main event at Barclays Center, Danny Garcia or Shawn Porter will earn the title of the guy Who Won the Weekend come Monday morning.
But before all that, how about we play a game of Who Will Win and How?
NYF crew, talk to me…You like the bull in Barclays china shop, Shawn Porter, who as much as mugs you as he defeats you, or the counter puncher with the not all that Philly style, Danny Garcia?
“Well in this case, I think Shawn will be a bull running into a China shop believing he can’t get cut by the glass,” says John Gatling, aka Gunner Gatling, our jazzman. “He will be. Sure he’ll pressure Danny in ways more severe than Brandon Rios did, but DSG is just a better overall fighter and technician who’ll capitalize on Porter’s often porous defense. I like Swift by come from behind stoppage late.”
And you, Abe Gonzalez, who do you think wins in this scrap, which will run on Showtime? “Danny Garcia will have the boxing IQ on his side which will lead to some really good counter punching throughout the fight. Shawn Porter on the other hand, comes in “head first” literally and will make it rough in there. It will be a fight of two halves but in the end, I believe Shawn Porter will have his hand raised in a split decision.”
And Cap’n David Phillips, how you seeing this one, two days away? “This is one of those really tough, evenly-matched scraps,” Phillips says. “Garcia can give spectacular performances, or sluggish ones, but he sure knows how to win. I’m looking for a strong performance Saturday night. Porter will keep up the pressure and force Garcia to come up with the goods. Which should make the fight a blast to watch. Who takes this thing? Man, I know people hate Garcia, but his resume is long and with a lot of quality scalps on it. I see a very close fight that will be decided by a late knockdown before going to the cards, giving the fighter who puts the other on the floor a 1-2-point victory. I’m going with Garcia, but I don’t feel especially confident.”
“Shawn Porter is the fight fan’s fighter, always there, always coming forward, always making a fight of it,” says Tom Penney. “Yet he’s not quite what his physical gifts indicate he might be. Daniel Roberts of Deadspin has described him as a floodlight who should be a laser, and I’m not sure anything sums him up better. For me, he’s the upper end of gatekeepers. A guy who will beat anyone who is anything less than prepared, but should lose to very good fighters that know how to deal with his constant pressure. Which brings us to Danny Garcia, the unchanging counter puncher. Danny is sharp, sure, and Danny has a lot of power, yes, but like Porter he has fallen just short of stepping into those ‘best of the best’ conversations. Fighting Danny is a terrible principle, like trying to retrieve something from an alligator’s jaws; if anything goes wrong you can lose your head. Still, Danny is not always able to translate his power and Porter’s pressuring style might pose a problem. I suspect Danny Garcia will be at his best, and will catch Shawn Porter early with something stiff enough to alter his mentality. I can see Danny winning an 8-4 type decision, but I have a feeling we’re going to see a late stoppage. Garcia by 9th round stoppage.”
“I’m really excited about this matchup,” said Kelsey McCarson. “Garcia is consistently a top performer and Porter always comes to rumble. It’s a really fun style matchup. Garcia has the competitive advantage as he’s a natural counterpuncher. Porter is a rough and raw pressure fighter mostly, so while I think he helps make a fun fight, Garcia probably ends up taking the win on the judges’ scorecards.”
The Scottish sage Colin Morrison gave his three cents: “I see Danny Garcia emerging as the winner here. The clash of styles is going to make for an absorbing fight and Porter will certainly have his moments during the contest but it will be Garcia’s timing and damaging left hooks that win the fight. A really good contest for the fans on hand at Barclays and watching around the world that Garcia wins by decision with not too many dissenting voices questioning the scorecards.”
