The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada hosts the latest “Premier Boxing Champions” broadcast this Saturday, with the main fights airing on NBC in the United States. The main event is a high level clash at welterweight as former world champions Shawn Porter (25-1-1) and Adrien Broner (30-1) square off. Right now, the bout sees Porter a slight (-120) favorite over Broner, who is returning at (+100). There is no over/under on this twelve round bout at the books yet. Porter is trying to get his career back on track after taking his first loss back in August of 2014 when England’s Kell Brook took his IBF Welterweight belt. Heading into that fight, Porter was undefeated and favored, but Brook outclassed him. Brook settled into a technical boxing match that saw the stocky Porter get picked apart as he kept coming forward without making many adjustments. It was a huge setback, and a return fight in March against Robert Garcia, who is in the co-main event here, fell apart when Garcia pulled out at the last minute. He KO’d late replacement Erick Bone in the fifth round, but the fight did not have the impact he wanted. A win over Broner would put him back where he wants and expects to be. Broner too is a fighter who is in need of a win. He is a former welterweight world champion, winning the title when he defeated Paulie Malignaggi in June of 2013. He has held world titles at Lightweight and Super Featherweight, and he jumped the Super Lightweight division and went straight to welterweight. Against Malignaggi, who is not known for his punching power, it was a calculated risk that paid off. However, in December of 2013 he was dropped and beaten by Marcos Maidana, taking his welterweight belt and basically beating him back into a lower weight class. He has won three fights in a row as he tries to get his career back on track, but this is his first return to the full welterweight division. Porter has been at welterweight a long time, but because of his stocky body type, the height and reach measurements are even for this fight. Broner will have to contend with Porter’s power, as the Maidana fight saw him dropped for the first time in his career. A win over Porter will put Broner back to where he expects to be. The co-main event sees welterweights Roberto Garcia (37-3) facing undefeated Errol Spence Jr (16-0) in a scheduled ten round bout. The line currently sees Garcia a (+800) underdog, with Spence Jr favored and paying back at (-1475). Spence is a decorated amateur who has been moving fast as a pro. He participated in the 2012 London Olympics as part of an American team that is widely considered one of the worst in years. Garcia is a solid veteran who is constantly plodding forward as he looks to bludgeon you with his body attack. In this one, he basically has ten rounds to try and hunt Spence down and hurt him. The entire live event sees eight fights on the schedule, and each fight features an undefeated prospect, such as Lightweights Robert Easter (13-0), Maurice Lee (4-0), Middleweight Terrell Gausha (14-0), Welterweight Ladarius Miller (7-0) and Heavyweight Michael Hunter (7-0).
