Shawn Porter knew it was somewhat of a long shot, but he wasn’t exactly ruling out the upset. Considering what Jermell Charlo has done at 154 pounds, Porter gave him the benefit of the doubt. Yet, as the rounds got more and more lopsided, Porter realized that he was incredibly wrong. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Fighting Canelo Alvarez in a weight class he’s never competed in was never going to be a walk in the park but Porter was expecting more. With that said, Alvarez barely broke a sweat. Up until then, Porter believed that Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) was a great fighter, a champion, a go-getter, and most importantly, a winner. But, after watching him for a listless 36 minutes, Porter has a whole new perspective on Charlo.
“He didn’t get stopped but he showed us who you are,” Porter told The Porter Way Podcast. “You aren’t going to step up.”
There was a time when Charlo was a pugnacious personality. Media members were nervous whenever they got the opportunity to ask him a question, in fear of being chewed out in front of their peers. As for his competition, Charlo was petulant and loquacious with his trash talk.
His incendiary interviews often ended with Charlo screaming out, “Lions Only.” It was sort of a tip of the cap to the king of the jungle. Porter enjoyed Charlo’s disposition. Now, however, Porter doesn’t want to hear Charlo utter the words, “Lions Only” ever again. When things got tough and the 33-year-old needed to bite down on his mouthpiece and find a way to win, he simply didn’t. Now, Porter is convinced that Charlo simply isn’t the ferocious fighter that he claims to be.
“That Lions Only that you’re talking, you’re not going to do that. You have no ability to just, let me dog it out.”