Shawn Porter wants to see the career of Robert “The King” Meriwether III fast-tracked after he makes his ProBox TV debut on Friday night against Brazil’s Carlos Rocha.
The highly touted Meriwether opens the televised broadcast on an exceptional Friday version of Wednesday Night Fights from Plant City, Florida. On the occasion of his fifth professional contest he is scheduled to fight Rocha over four rounds.
Porter retired in 2021 after his success in winning world titles at welterweight had previously taken him into contention to fight Floyd Mayweather, and in the knowledge that Meriwether was once a protege of Mayweather, he is confident in the super featherweight’s future.
“This kid trains at the Mayweather gym,” Porter told ProBox TV. “Anyone between 118 and 150 [pounds] – he is getting in the ring with them and busting them up. I’ve seen it personally.
“The kid is lights-out. He’s only 18, so he’s got a lot of room to grow. He loves it; he loves what he does; he loves being around the energy of boxing. Look to see him come into the ring on Friday night and really light it up.”
Rocha, 30, has won three and lost two of his five fights. That his two defeats came via stoppage against Mykell Gamble and over four rounds against the also-undefeated Joshua Jones means he represents a fine test for Meriwether’s progress.
“This is what I hate for a kid this early in his career,” Porter continued. “I wanna see more people in front of him; watching him fight. When you are young, 4-0, 5-0, you are usually fighting against nobody. This kid should be fighting in front of a lot of people. ProBox should get him to a level where he can do that more than he normally would.”
Before agreeing terms with Garry Jonas’ ProBox, Meriwether – not unlike Devin Haney – began his professional career with two victories in Mexico. He most recently defeated Ezra Rabin, in a lopsided points victory in Minneapolis last June.
