Stow grad gets knockout in his debut as pro boxer

Published on Friday, Oct 10, 2008

Beacon Journal staff report

Super-middleweight Shawn Porter made his professional debut a night to remember.

Porter, a Stow High School graduate, won by knockout Oct. 3 before 6,500 fans at Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Md. He stopped Norman Johnson of Brooklyn, N.Y., at 1:17 of the first round in their scheduled four-round bout.

''I wanted to come out and get a good fight, get a knockout and move on,'' Porter said. ''I got more than that. I got a big crowd that got behind me.''

Porter hurt Johnson (1-3) with a combination that produced a knockdown. Johnson got up at the count of seven, but three body shots from Porter soon after sent Johnson down again and the referee ended the fight.

The date for Porter's second pro bout is undetermined. Promoters are hoping to include him on a Nov. 1 card in Memphis, Tenn.

''I want to stay busy,'' Porter said of his schedule. ''I want to have 10 fights by this time next year.''

Porter won more than 270 bouts as an amateur and 13 titles in national and international events.

These pages represent Shawn’s amateur career prior to turning professional.

A bit of nostalgia, if you like.