The long-brewing welterweight title fight between Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter is reportedly “all but set” for September 8th at Barclays Center, headlining a Showtime card that also features David Benavidez vs. Anthony Dirrell and Charles Martin vs. Adam Kownacki.
Garcia (34-1, 20 KO) vs. Porter (28-2-1, 17 KO) was originally targeted for August 25th, but got bumped back. Both men lost close fights to Keith Thurman relatively recently; Garcia is 1-0 since, flattening Brandon Rios in February, while Porter has beaten Andre Berto and Adrian Granados. They’ll be fighting for Thurman’s belt, which he vacated due to lingering injuries.
Benavidez (20-0, 17 KO) and Dirrell (32-1-1, 24 KO) have likewise been linked for a while, but Benavidez ran into some promotional issues. This will be “El Bandera Roja’s” second title defense and possibly Dirrell’s final appearance in the ring if his comments after his win over Abie Han were accurate.
Martin (25-1-1, 23 KO), best known for winning a world title thanks to Vyacheslav Glazkov’s knee self-destructing, has yet to beat a quality foe since Anthony Joshua gave him a reality check. Kownacki (17-0, 14 KO) is similarly unproven, but did knock out Artur Szpilka last year.
Should it come together, this card will air opposite Superfly 3 on HBO, so you’d better hope your DVR’s working and your friends aren’t jerks about spoilers.
