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LAS VEGAS – Terence Crawford doesn’t envision the longest layoff of his 13-year pro career to negatively impact his performance when he faces Shawn Porter on Saturday night.
Crawford hasn’t boxed in slightly more than a year, not since he stopped former IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook in the fourth round last November 14 at MGM Grand Conference Center. Porter will end a lengthier layoff when he enters the ring for their welterweight title fight, as he hasn’t boxed since he thoroughly out-pointed Germany’s Sebastian Formella in their 12-rounder in August 2020 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Crawford and Porter both turned 34 in recent months, thus Crawford doesn’t view their extended breaks as hindrances leading up to their 12-round, 147-pound championship match at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.
“I think it benefitted both of us being at the age we at,” Crawford told BoxingScene.com. “Our bodies need that rest, being that we both train so hard. You know, so I don’t think there’s gonna be any ring rust on my behalf.”
Crawford, whose contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. expires after this fight, had hoped to fight earlier this year. Negotiations for a fight with Manny Pacquiao never reached a serious stage, though, which left Crawford to accept a mandated defense of his WBO welterweight title against Porter, a former IBF and WBC 147-pound champion.
The three-division champion from Omaha, Nebraska, tried to use his down time wisely while also allowing his body time to recover from decades of taxing training.
“Well, I’m always focused and I’m always in the gym,” Crawford said. “I’m always doing something, you know, so having that down time probably helped me more than it hurted me, being that I’ve been in the sport since I was 7. So, could you imagine, you know, losing weight, playing basketball, playing football, you know, baseball, doing all these sports and, you know, here I am, 34 years old, and the wear and tear on my body. So, it probably helped me more than it hurted me and, you know, we shall see Saturday.”
Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) will make the fifth defense of his WBO welterweight title against Porter. Most credible sportsbooks list Crawford as at least a 7-1 favorite to top Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs), who has lost only close 12-round decisions to Kell Brook (majority), Keith Thurman (unanimous) and Errol Spence Jr. (split), all of whom were undefeated when Porter fought them.
Crawford-Porter is the main event of a four-bout pay-per-view show scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. PT. The telecast costs $69.99, but it also requires a one-month subscription to ESPN+ ($6.99).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.