Shawn Porter to make first defense against Paulie Malignaggi in Washington D.C.

Shawn “Showtime” Porter earned his first shot at a major title five years and two months after turning pro. Once he got it, he won the championship by defeating Devon Alexander via unanimous decision in December in Brooklyn.

Now that he has the belt, he has no intention of letting it go. He will make his first defense on April 19 when he squares off with former champion Paulie Malignaggi at DC Armory in Washington D.C. (on Showtime).

“I fought hard to get this title,” said Porter, 26, of Akron, Ohio. “Paulie says he wants it, but is he willing to go through me to get it?”

Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs) then took a shot at the light-hitting Malignaggi.

“Fighting Malignaggi is like fighting Alexander; they don’t have the strength or power to keep me away,” Porter said. “And I will steamroll Paulie on my way to victory April 19.”

Alexander has a knockout ratio of 51.8 percent, which is much higher than that of Malignaggi, whose record of 33-5 with seven knockouts computes to a knockout ratio of just 18.4 percent.

“I’m excited to be back in a title fight so soon after my win over Zab Judah,” said Malignaggi, who defeated former champion Judah via unanimous decision in December in Brooklyn. “I will become a three-time world champion on April 19. Porter is a good fighter and I’m sure he’ll be a champion again in the future, but he doesn’t have the tools or experience to beat me.”

This will be the main undercard fight to the light heavyweight title-unification bout between champion Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov.

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