Both were considered "gatekeeper" in their respective era. Quartey fought better "top" opposition but Porter has the better resume. Who ranks right and who would win head to head?
Porter's pressure would bag him a few rounds but Quartey's jab and composure would see him through. 117-111 type decision.
Neither of them were considered gatekeepers????? I think Porter would be in real danger of being stopped by Quartey. Porter jumps in too much leaving himself exposed and throws extremely wide punches. Ike's main arsenal is extremely straight bombs (straight right, left jab). straight shots >>>>> hooking/looping shots. And he was quick, and a very hard hitter, and had a good chin. Look how quickly he turned his left hook over when he dropped Oscar. Look at how he was probably the first person to push Fernando Vargas back and around, and that was at a higher weight than he should've been at. Porter is tough, but he can be hurt. And he got muscled around by Kell Brook who just rinsed and repeated the same tactic. Quick straight shots, tie up................And it worked. And Ike quite frankly was kinda an underrated monster. I think Ike would give Porter a hard day's work.
I guess in a slightly different sense than we usually employ that word. It typically means gatekeeping a world title. In this context I could see it meaning a higher bar of gatekeeping HOF or ATF status. As in, you beat them if you're that level but don't if you're not.