Posted on 09/15/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Terence Crawford heard the critics loud and clear.
While his trophy case was filled to the brim with numerous awards, Crawford was constantly castigated for the level of opposition he fought along the way. Bob Arum, Crawford’s long-time promoter, consistently pounded the pavement in an attempt to find the multiple division titlist a worthy opponent.
However, after spending years facing fighters who were considered at the bottom of the barrel, Crawford would simply step into the ring and take care of business with relative ease. Now, with Crawford facing whom many consider being his toughest foe yet in Shawn Porter on November 20th, the Omaha, Nebraska native believes for as great as he’s been thus far, he’ll be given the opportunity to go even deeper into his bag of tricks.
“I’m very excited,” said Crawford, during an interview with ESPN. “Now I can show my talent and maybe I can show something for the general public, something that they’ve never seen before.”
Porter, 33, has spent the better part of the past decade as either a world champion or a highly rated contender. After snagging the vacant WBC welterweight title from Danny Garcia in September of 2018, Porter would go on to eke out a close split decision win against current WBA titleholder, Yordenis Ugas. Porter would then attempt to add even more gold to his waist as he took on Errol Spence Jr. in September of 2019. Porter’s dreams ultimately, would fail to come true as he fell just short of his goals.
Since then, Porter has regained that winning feeling, defeating journeymen Sebastian Formella via unanimous decision in August of 2020.
As for Crawford, following his move to the welterweight division in 2018, the three-division titlist has scored five knockout wins in a row. Crawford’s propensity to toy with his competition may have left him atop most pound for pound list but once the bell rings come November 20th, he believes he’ll go to an even higher level.
“I don’t believe that I’ve shown them my best yet.”