Shawn Porter’s welterweight bout with Andre Berto on April 22 at Barclays Center on Showtime has been elevated to a WBC final title eliminator, promoter Lou DiBella revealed midway through a press conference on Saturday at Barclays Center to formally announce the fight after just receiving the news.  Porter is ranked No. 5 by the WBC at 147 pounds and Berto No. 7.

“The phone rang and that actually was (WBC president) Mauricio Sulaiman and this is a fight for the mandatory for the WBC,” DiBella said after speaking to Sulaiman off to the side in between speakers at the press conference before Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman’s fight. “The winner is the mandatory for the WBC title.”

Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) last fought in June, losing a highly competitive unanimous decision to Keith Thurman at Barclays Center. Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) knocked out Victor Ortiz in the fourth round last April after losing a wide decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September of 2015. Porter didn’t realize his bout with Berto was a final title eliminator until DiBella announced it midway through the press conference. Now, he will get to watch Thurman face Garcia for the WBA/WBC welterweight titles knowing he will get  a crack at the winner if he gets by Berto.

“I’ve never really been involved in an eliminator,” Porter told RingTV.com after the press conference. “So to see it on TV you understand what it’s all about but now I’m getting to really feel it and understand what the magnitude of what one fight can bring you. Up until now, I’ve had fights where if you win you go up the ladder but not this prize at the end of the ladder that you can actually see.” Porter said he would prefer to face Garcia for the WBC title since he has already faced Thurman. “Maybe Danny because I haven’t fought him yet,” he remarked.