Spence drops Porter in 11th, wins split decision

1:25 AM ET

LOS ANGELES — Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter waged the possible fight of the year, but it was Spence who got the nod in an action-packed split decision to unify two welterweight world titles on Saturday night at Staples Center.

After a little bit of a slow start, the fight turned into an all-out slugfest in the third round and never let up as the crowd of 16,702 was often on its feet. But it was Spence, who scored a knockdown in the 11th round, who won 116-111 on two scorecards while one judge favored Porter 115-112. ESPN had it 115-112 for Spence.

Both men said ahead of the fight that the winner should be viewed as the best fighter in the 147-pound division. It is a talent-rich weight class that is also home to Manny Pacquiao, the all-time great legend who owns one of the belts, as well as Terence Crawford, who owns other major belt and ranks No. 2 on the ESPN pound-for-pound best poll.

But Spence, who was No. 5 on the pound-for-pound list heading into the fight, made his case to rise as he scored the biggest win of his career against a two-time world titlist in a tremendous battle.

The fight began with each man doing what most expected, with Spence (26-0, 21 KOs), 29, a southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, working his jab and Porter looking to force his way inside.

The fight turned into a slugfest in the third round as they attacked each other with abandon. Spence landed a hard counter left on the button but Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs), 31, of Las Vegas, took it well and as they continued to trade he got in a big right hand.

Porter, making his second title defense, opened the fourth round with a flurry of punches that all appeared to land and then connected with a right hand. Spence came back with a counter left, and they battled back and forth. Porter landed a tremendous right hand on the top of Spence’s head, and then a left from Spence rocked Porter’s head back with 30 seconds to go in a tremendous action-packed round.

They continued to battle at a fast pace in the middle rounds with Porter forcing everything he could to stay on Spence on the inside and Spence looking to land his left hand.

Porter had a very strong seventh round. He started fast and never slowed down as he outworked and outhustled Spence, who might have been looking for a breather after such an intense pace through the first half of the bout.

Porter landed a left hand to the head that wobbled Porter about 30 seconds into the eighth round and continued to fire away. He landed a right hand late in the round in which Spence did not seem to do much.

The ninth round was also action-packed with both fighters landing powerful shots but Porter, who would not given an inch, seeming to land the more telling right hands to the head over and over. He snapped Spence’s head back with one early in the round, and they fought toe to toe for most of the round.

As the 11th round opened, the crowd broke into a “Porter! Porter!” chant as the fighters waded back into battle in another round of fierce back-and-forth action..

Spence scored the definitive moment of the fight late in the 11th round when he cracked Porter with a left hand on the chin to score a knockdown. Porter easily beat the count and went after Spence with abandon with incredible determination.

Both fighters were going for a knockout in the 12th in yet another wildly exciting action round. Neither man would give in as they traded to the final bell with the crowd on its feet.