Porter says he’s more than just another test for Crawford
If the rest of the game is even, beware the man with nothing to lose.
The question Saturday night is whether Shawn Porter will be fighting Terence Crawford on level ground.
If so, Porter has a brilliant chance, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, to lift Crawford’s WBO welterweight championship, mess up his “0,” and take down his mythical pound-for-pound status which, right now, puts him either just behind or alongside Canelo Alvarez.
But if Porter continues to suffer from Tom Weiskopf Syndrome, Crawford will keep all those goodies and take Porter to the same pained place he takes everyone else.
Weiskopf finished second in the Masters four times and was otherwise stymied because he golfed during the Jack Nicklaus Experience. The difference is that a runner-up finish in golf at least provides points and status. In boxing, a loss provides nothing, except more discomfort.
Porter fought Keith Thurman five years ago and lost by two points on all cards. He fought Errol Spence almost two years ago and lost by split decision, and he had a real chance until Spence knocked him down in the 11th round.
Otherwise, Porter is the closest thing to an everyday warrior in the generally peace-loving welterweight division, where words decisively outnumber punches.
He has taken the measure of Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugás, former champions all. At 31-3-1, Porter never has lost to a man who was not undefeated at the time. The problem is that Crawford is 37-0 with 28 knockouts.
“Somehow people have missed the qualities I’ve brought to 37 fights,” Porter said. “People say this is a test for Terence Crawford. I don’t take it personal, but this is more than a test for him. His livelihood is on the line. And Shawn Porter will not be looked upon as a test for fighters coming up.”
This is not to say that Crawford doesn’t need a test. He has been on the other side of the promotional street from the other prominent welters.
Crawford’s deal with Top Rank expires after this fight. Bob Arum says he hopes to forge another one, but in May he shrugged off Crawford’s pay-per-view aspirations by saying, “Who’s going to pay for it?”
He also maintained that he “could buy a house in Beverly Hills” with the money he’d lost on Crawford’s previous three fights, although Arum has a handsome one of those already.
This fight is going PPV, but in Crawford’s defense, he hasn’t exactly been matched up with the Seven Blocks of Granite.
Since Crawford decisioned Viktor Postol in 2016, he has met declining former champs like Amir Khan, Jeff Horn and Kell Brook, as well as dubious challengers like Jose Benavidez Jr., Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Julius Indongo. But none of the eight men who have followed Postol into the ring against Crawford have gotten to the end of a fight.
There is a nastiness to Crawford that the rest of the top-shelf welters lack, a lust for finishing fights with excessive force.
That is one of many interesting aspects here, because Porter usually parks himself at your chin, takes away your punching radius, and tries to batter away. He would have been very good with bayonets, on battlefields of yore.
“Terence has this rhythm about him,” Porter said. “But that’s where I live. I live in the world of disrupting your rhythm and doing what makes you uncomfortable. Eventually, it will fester emotionally.
“In fact, I was reluctant at first because I didn’t want to be the first one to beat him. I don’t want to beat him and then hear people say, well, this shows he’s not as elite as he is. I don’t want people to say that. They’re just not going to get what they’re used to seeing in him.”
Crawford is famous for switching leads mid-fight, or mid-round, and discombobulating fighters, but Kenny Porter, Shawn’s father and trainer, told him long ago to immediately ambush anybody who switches.
“It’s part of my foundation,” Shawn said. “I’ve been boxing since I was 5 and I’m 34 now. I’ve been competing since I was 8. I’ll be prepared for everything he brings. It’s why my name is Showtime. I show up.”
And afterward? Porter has lots of boxing years left and a career as an insightful TV fight analyst whenever those years run out. His money is safe and his identity is set. There’s nothing to lose, no fall from a pedestal, no change in definition.
All those risks are on Terence Crawford’s side of the ring. But does Porter belong there too?