Shawn Porter will look to be the first man to beat WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford when they met in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Crawford has 37 wins under his belt and world titles in three weight classes – and no fighter has yet been able to figure out the destructive switch-hitter.
But Porter is a formidable opponent, a two-time world champion with just three defeats on his record. Errol Spence Jr, Keith Thurman and Kell Brook are the only men to beat him.
Crawford might even envy Porter’s record – not least because his fight history includes one opponent that the WBO champion has been chasing for years.
A 2019 fight against Spence Jr may have ended in defeat for Porter, but he pushed the unified champion all the way to the scorecards, losing narrowly via a split decision.
It is regarded as Spence Jr’s toughest test to date – so should Crawford go one step further and become the first man to knock out Porter, it would send a clear message to his rival.
There have been efforts from Porter to taunt the champion, but at a cordial press conference on Wednesday, Crawford insisted he had a lot of respect for his opponent, even if he thinks he is a level above.
“I respect everything that Shawn does,” he said. “Shawn is athletic, he can box, he can bang, he can move around in the ring, he can cut corners and take angles.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t respect anything that he does. I’m just going to say that I do a lot of things better than Shawn. I’m going to show him come Saturday.”
Why hasn’t Crawford fought Spence?
It is the big question when it comes to Crawford: Why hasn’t he faced American rival and WBC and IBF champion Spence Jr yet?
Crawford has been left repeatedly frustrated by his efforts to face another champion at welterweight. The 34-year-old made history at light-welterweight, becoming undisputed champion in 2015, as the first male boxer to hold all four major belts in one division since 2005.
The idea that Crawford is ducking better opponent is routinely used to taunt him. Porter has made that claim too – leading to the only flashpoint in the build-up to Saturday’s fight.
“That’s a lie,” was Crawford’s brief, annoyed response.
Porter is an elite opponent, exactly the type of fighter Crawford has been calling for – but has struggled to find during a partnership with promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank that has not always been smooth sailing.
The failure to make the Spence Jr fight appears to have been down to boxing politics and competing networks rather than any reluctance from the fighters. Spence Jr is with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, aligned with Fox Sports, and Crawford with Arum’s ESPN-aligned Top Rank.
Spence Jr is also currently recovering from an eye injury, which forced him to withdraw from a fight with Manny Pacquiao last August. Porter was the next best option for Crawford, but with Spence Jr now 31 and Crawford 34, fans are eager to see the fight before it goes by its expiration date.
There is also the issue of Crawford’s looming free agency – as his deal with Top Rank is about to expire. Will he stay or go elsewhere? That decision could have a major bearing on whether a bout with Spence Jr can happen.
What is Porter’s strategy?
Porter, a difficult opponent with a tenacious and dogged approach, is unlikely to overhaul his gameplan against Crawford. It could be a thrilling fight if the challenger can force the champion on to the back foot.
Certainly, with Crawford often so calm in the ring, Porter is likely to do all he can to cause some discomfort.
He has done so in the build-up. Crawford is visibly tired of people questioning his credentials and Porter has tried to hone in on that during fight week.
“I feel like people see your personality and your character right now more than they’ve ever seen, but I feel like I’m still correct in saying that when the wrong tweet or Instagram post goes up, you can get upset,” Porter said.
“There are people you can get to, and there are people that you can’t get to.
“I’m one of those people that you can’t get to, and I got a feeling that you can get to him quicker on the microphone than you can in the ring.
“In the ring, he is solid, but there may be something that is posted or said that might have an effect on him [during] the fight.”
