Unbeaten Shawn Porter on Wednesday announced that he will defend his world welterweight crown against Paulie Malignaggi next month, with Britain’s unbeaten Kell Brook reportedly awaiting the winner.
Porter, who took the IBF title from Devon Alexander in December last year, will make his first defense of the crown on April 19 in Washington on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins-Beibut Shumenov light heavyweight world title unification fight.
“Excited to announce my next casualty will be @PaulMalignaggi on April 19th at the DC Armory,” Porter tweeted.
Photo: AFP
According to ESPN and several boxing Web sites, the bout was sanctioned by the IBF only if both fighters agreed that the winner would defend the crown against 27-year-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 in Liverpool.
Porter, 23-0 with one drawn and 14 knockouts, took the title by unanimous decision in New York in his first world title 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.
The former world light welterweight champion had been the WBA welterweight champion until a split-decision loss last June to Adrien Broner.
Broner lost the title to Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in December last year in a fight that launched the South American into a big-money bout against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr in May.
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