Shawn Porter, the five-star boxer who wants to beat Terence Crawford

Shawn Porter did not like boxing. When he was a kid, the only thing that motivated his competitive spirit was playing in high school soccer leagues in northern Ohio.

Porter played so well that he received letters from California, Southern California, Virginia, and Georgia Tech to pursue a professional career. But he chose to don the gloves.

The choice seemed absurd at the time - why would a kid prefer to train in smelly gyms when he could choose a better place? But Porter surprised his trainers with his second-most appealing quality: his smile.

Boxers are not usually considered happy people. Perhaps because of their discouraging backgrounds or because of the punishments, they receive in every fight. Porter was the exception to the rule. A guy who competed to be happy, as if that was the natural condition of his athletic mindset.

His father Kenny, the Sergeant Alpha, was good with his hands but rarely smiled. He wrote down his son's workouts from sparring to swimming with military precision. Mr. Porter, 56, never lost sight of Shawn's development and often reined in his behaviors.

Things did not end well. His father's absolute authority forced him to move away and leave home, though only for a time. Shawn even accidentally broke Kenny's rib in a fight, which strengthened their relationship. "I'm blessed. I have my dad's loyalty. I carry him with me every day," he said of their familial relationship.

Just hours away from his WBO welterweight title fight with champion Terence Crawford, 34, Porter has one of the biggest challenges as a boxer. The man with the smile faces the most talented fighter in the division today. Crawford is heavy-handed, ambidextrous, and possesses brilliant ring intelligence.

"What do you have that he doesn't have?" a reporter asked him at his last press conference. "My corner," he replied, referring to his father.

Therein lies Porter's main strength, something even Crawford doesn't dispute. "What he can get from his son, probably no one else can."

If Porter decided to dedicate his life to boxing, it was because of his father. His brother James, who played soccer and Hot Wheels cars with him, was killed by a car when he was three years old. Not having enough money, his family buried him in an unmarked grave.

Kenny toughened his character and grew stronger. He started amateur boxing and stopped playing soccer on the streets, where there were drug dealers and people who were not role models.

Only once did his mother see him fight. That was in 2009 in Memphis, where she asked him to quit boxing. It wasn't long before Portero was back in action.

In 2007, he won the U.S. 'Golden Gloves' championship. Then, he made his professional debut against Norman Johnson, defeating him by technical knockout in the first round.

In February 2010, he won his first title against Russell Jordan for the WBO-NABO interim super welterweight championship.

'Showtime' pulled on his aggressive style to begin his belt collecting. These include the WBC-NABF, WBO-NABO, IBF, WBC Silver, and WBC welterweight titles.

He has lost title fights to Kell Brook, Keith Thurman, and Errol Spence Jr. but has defeated Devon Alexander, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, and Yordenis Ugas. His 31-3 record is impressive but made more special by his equine. His father. James' memory and love for the sport.

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