Shawn Porter focused on beating Kell Brook, not talk of future Mayweather fight

Shawn Porter has picked up a lot of hype over the last nine months, owing to a pair of very good wins over Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi, but tomorrow night he faces a new challenge in the form of unbeaten Englishman Kell Brook, a harder puncher and one that brings a different style to the ring than his last two outgunned foes.

Porter (24-0-1, 15 KO) was asked after today's weigh-in about Brook (32-0, 22 KO) believing that Porter is "cocky," or getting ahead of himself, but said he's merely confident in his abilities.

"I don't think so, it's just how I am. I'm confident when I get in the ring, and I think as a fighter, that's the mindset you need to have it. It's not cocky, it's confidence," he said.

The 26-year-old from Akron, Ohio, also knows that fight fans are looking for this to be an exciting affair, in part because Porter has been so aggressive in his last two fights, and in part because the StubHub Center has quickly gained a reputation for brawls.

"Everybody knows I'm an exciting fighter. Anyone out there trying to outshine me, they're in for it. I think he knows what time it is, and he's sweating," Porter said.

"I think it's gonna be a good fight. I think we worked on a great game plan. We're gonna come in there to do everything we can, to make it exciting, and win the fight. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you don't win the fight. The No. 1 goal is to win the fight, the No. 2 goal is to be exciting."

Porter, as an unbeaten American and welterweight titleholder starting to make a name for himself, and advised by Al Haymon, has found himself ostensibly in the mix to face Floyd Mayweather in the near future, too, but isn't allowing himself to think ahead in regard to that fight. When asked if he felt he needed a great performance to make that fight happen, he brushed the question aside.

"I need a great performance because that's what I ask and expect out of myself," he said. "That's what my team expects of me. We always expect to go out there and be better than last time out. I'll be 'and still' the champion of the world."