By: Sean Crose
One of the more compelling aspects of writing about fighting is that you have to focus a lot on the boxer’s preparation as you do the action in the ring. For example, it’s fun to watch Floyd Mayweather work out while the smooth sounds of Mary Jane Girls blaring from the speakers in his practice room. Likewise, it was interesting to watch Manny Pacquiao and his entourage roll over the gravel of Griffith Park while making their way in the chilly early morning. Like it’s fun to see Vasyl Lomachenko figure out what looks like math problems while preparing for a battle, or Canelo Alvarez sweat his way through a ballbox practice.
Things like that are fascinating, because you get to see what makes the boxer that he or she is in the ring. However, it’s not just training that makes pre-combat activity so engaging. After a head-to-head showdown between Shawn Porter and reigning WBO champion Terence Crawford on Friday, FightHype got some footage of a decent Porter rally. There’s a lot of food around, and, this is the world of professional boxing, lots of interesting people. However, Porter himself can be found eating quietly in a corner with some people in his inner circle.
“I’m in my element, man,” he said. “We have some lasagna, some mashed potatoes, some fish, some bread, some vegetables, some steak.” However, even after doing the weights, the former weight class standard athlete – and perhaps soon a newcomer – made it clear that he was watching what he ate. “I don’t bother with pasta,” he said. “Too much grease and sugar. Too much cheese.” Porter, one of the most disciplined athletes on earth, wasn’t prepared to cheat to the point of almost ringing the opening bell. “Everything I eat must be useful to me on the night of the fight,” he said. “Even with the lasagna, there’s more veggies and healthy cheese here than frenzy.”
Porter said he even went so far as to consider what he would eat in advance. “I make sure everything is drained. There is no grease in any of these. All is well,” he said. “All are well.” Porter was asked where all the food came from. “Family,” he said, adding that his wife, Julia, brother-in-law, and cousin all contributed to the large meal for what appeared to be twenty people.
* cover photo by David Becker / AP
