GOLDEN GLOVES: Porter is rightly regarded among the best welterweights in the world
Photo: RYAN HAFEY/ PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS
SHAWN PORTER sought comfort in his father’s arms. For the previous 10 weeks, the man now holding him close had been anything but gentle. He drove his son through physical and mental torture in preparation for another fight. But the early morning runs, the barely tolerable diet and relentless sparring had all been for nothing. Porter’s world title was now the property of Kell Brook and his undefeated record was gone.
The 2014 defeat was hard to take because the journey that came before was far from easy. Today, Porter is a prominent member of the sport’s talentladen welterweight division but for so long he had been an anonymous figure. Sitting at the back of boxing’s classroom while other pupils vied for the teacher’s attention, Porter instead preferred to wait patiently for the end of term exams.