This Friday, Spike TV will air the new Premier Boxing Champions telecast featuring two welterweight bouts with top notch names as Andre Berto takes on Josesito Lopez and Shawn Porter faces Roberto Garcia. The books are not showing lines for the fights yet, but they are sure to be up within the next 48 hours.
Berto (29-3) is a former long time holder of the WBC World Welterweight title, but he has gone 2-3 in his last five fights and is not currently in the title picture. He won his last fight in September, going 10 rounds with Steve Chambers. Lopez is a solid, veteran fighter (33-6) whose recent losses are to Saul Alvarez, Marcos Maidana and Jessie Vargas, so he has been called upon for big fights because of his all-out style. He has won three in a row, and back in 2012 he broke Victor Ortiz’s jaw in a fight that came roughly a year after Ortiz had handed Berto the first loss of his professional career.
In the second feature fight, former IBF World Welterwieght champion Shawn Porter looks to bounce back from his title loss against Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia. Last August, Porter lost a majority decision as he was outboxed by England’s Kell Brook, who revealed him as one dimensional. Garcia is a tough veteran who has paid his dues in building up a terrific record of 36-3, and he has won his last eight fights in a row.
Back in May of 2010, he lost to Antonio Margarito, but he showed his mettle and ability to keep fighting after being floored. In his last fight, he won a unanimous decision over Breidis Prescott that aired on ESPN2, but at times in that bout and as his career has extended itself he has looked slow and plodding. Prescott is a lot faster than Garcia, and Porter will be also, and Porter hits hard. Garcia is going to have to take some damage to try to land his shots.
The live event also features heavyweight Chris Arreola taking on Curtis Harper (12-0) as Arreola attempts to regroup from his loss last May to Bermane Stiverne. Arreola has been focused on his training and is still looking to make a mark in the Heavyweight division.
