Porter to defend title against Malignaggi
WASHINGTON: Unbeaten Shawn Por ter announced Wednesday that he will defend his world welterweight crown against Paulie Malignaggi next month with Britain’s unbeaten Kell Brook reportedly awaiting the winner.
P o r t e r, wh o took the International Boxing Federation title from Devon Alexander last December, will make his first defense of the crown on April 19 at Washington on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins- Beibut Shumenov light- heavyweight world title unification fight.
“Excited to announce my next casualty will be úPaulMalignaggi on April 19th at the DC Armory,” Porter tweeted.
According to ESPN and several boxing websites, the bout was sanctioned by the IBF only if both fighters agreed that the winner would defend the crown against 27year- old Brook within 90 days.
That would set the stage for Brook’s first world title bout no later than July, provided he gets past Mexico’s Alvaro Robles on Saturday at Liverpool.
Porter, 23- 0 with one drawn and 14 knockouts, took the title by unanimous decision in New York in his first world tit le opportunity.
Malignaggi, 33, is 33- 5 with seven knockouts and comes off a unanimous decision victory over Zab Judah on the same card as Porter’s title win in Brooklyn, where Malignaggi is a hometown hero. — AFP