Although welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford is acknowledged as one of the premier talents in the sport, his inability to face elite welterweights continues to be a blight on his name. Or so the story goes.
Fellow welterweight Shawn Porter understands the criticism, but believes that that should not detract one from recognizing Crawford’s abilities, which, he says, are the bonafides.
“I get it, some of the guys that he may have fought may not have been the best at that point in time, but he’s good,” Porter told FightHype. “You can’t deny it.”
Last month, defended his WBO title against Kell Brook, stopping the British contender inside four rounds last month at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) has long been mentioned as a possible opponent for Crawford, but that has not stopped him from being congratulatory of Crawford. Both fighters have floated the idea of facing each other in the past, but serious talks have never materialized.
“That’s my dude,” Porter said of Crawford. “He’s a real good boxer, a real good athlete. You see it all in the ring. Some guys you really just see them (either) as a fighter, as a boxer. With him you see him as a boxer and athlete, being able to make the right moves at the right time, look at his eyes you can see him thinking, calculating…that’s professional boxing right there.”
Meanwhile, Porter continues to brainstorm the possibilities of what he would do in a boxing ring against Crawford. In the Brook fight, as per usual, Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) took his time in the beginning, measuring his distance – while eating a few right hands – before snapping into another gear. Sound strategy, Porter says, but he is doubtful that it would effective against him.
“It’s not a secret, I’m a fast starter. I don’t like to get in there and feel it out,” Porter said. “The way I figure out what a guy wants to do is basically make him react - I think that’s one thing that would work for me against Terence Crawford. What I do is not only do I try to win the rounds, but I try to present challenges right out the gate.”
“You’re not going to get a feel-out round (against me),” Porter continued. “If you think you’re going to want to figure it out, I’m not giving you time to even say ‘lemme see how this works.’ It’s either working or it’s not.”