By Chris Williams: Shawn Porter reveals he and Terence Crawford had planned on having a conversation to discuss putting a fight together between them before the coronavirus outbreak began.
Now those plans have been dashed, but Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) remains interested in setting up a fight against WBO welterweight champion Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) as soon as the coronavirus threat is under control.
Former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Porter is targeting all these fighters once boxing has hit the reset button:
- Errol Spence Jr.
- Manny Pacquiao
- Keith Thurman
- Danny Garcia
- Terence Crawford
It’s unclear where precisely Crawford falls among this list for Porter. He wants rematches against Spence, Thurman, and Garcia. Porter would also like to fight Pacquiao, which is a fight that has eluded him his entire 12-year career.
Porter: All welterweights will RESET after coronavirus
“When this is all done, we’re all going to reset,” said Shawn Porter on Instagram Live on the coronavirus. “The champions are still going to be champion…but now we’ve all had the same amount of rest, and we’ve all had the same amount of time to get ready for a fight.
“The guys that wouldn’t fight me in April are now coming in May, June, or whatever. We’re hitting the reset button; guys like Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, Manny Pacquiao. We’ll even toss Terence Crawford’s name in there because he’s at the top of the list, and he should be on everyone’s paper.
“All those guys are reset. You cannot say, ‘I just fought in January,’ and you can’t say, “I’m coming off of an injury.’ We’ve all been resting, bro. So the list for me is as extremely slim as it’s been in a while. We’ll test the waters for maybe Manny Pacquiao or test the waters for maybe Errol Spence. But here’s the thing about fighting Errol Spence,” said Porter.
Porter’s best chance an exciting fight is a rematch against Yordenis Ugas, who he beat by a controversial 12 round split decision in March of last year. It’s doubtful that Porter will take that fight though, considering that Ugas out-slugged him and got the better of him the entire match.
Porter is hoping that Errol Spence will throw him a bone and give a rematch, but that’s not going to happen right away. The way that Spence is slurring his words after his car crash last October, he’s not getting anywhere near Porter when he starts back.
Crawford and Porter had conversation planned
“Now he’s had some rest,” said Porter about Spence. “He was talking about coming back in June or July. We don’t know how long this thing is going to last,” said Porter on the COVID 19 pandemic. “But if we get past June, July or August or September even, we reset the whole clock. We want to see the best of the best. We need to see it immediately.
“If we want to compete with the NFL and NBA, who is on the pause right now, track and field and the Olympic games and all that kind of stuff, you make Manny Pacquiao vs. Shawn Porter, and you make Errol Spence vs. Shawn Porter.
“Myself and Terence Crawford were going to have a conversation just before this hit. I don’t know how that conversation was going to go, but you do want to see Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter. Those are the big fights that people need to see right at the jump. Forget warming up, forget ‘I need comeback fight,’ forget that. All that’s done in the gym, and you know that.
“If you train the right way, training is your warmup. The fight that everybody is supposed to see, Manny Pacquiao vs. Errol Spence, and I don’t know what that conversation with Terence Crawford was going to be like, but I think it was going to be a good one. So we can throw his name in there too.
“I watched a couple [interviews], and nobody is saying my name,” said Porter about the other top fighters. “I say everybody’s name. When you say everybody’s name, you claim it, but nobody wants to say my name,” said Porter.
Shawn is mentioning a lot of fighters, and he’s not counting on a fight against Crawford happening.
Who will Crawford fight next?
“Speaking of Floyd Mayweather, none other than Mayweather ranked Terence Crawford as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter when Mayweather did an interview recently,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “Crawford has undoubtedly earned that distinction.
“He’s won world titles in multiple weight classes and is now considered one of the top guys at 147 pounds. But he doesn’t have a lot of available opponents at 147 lbs. So when boxing resumes, who do you want to see Crawford fight next?” said Mannix.
“Everyone wants to see him [Crawford] fight Errol Spence,” said Mora. “That’s the type of fights we used to have in the 80s when the best fighter fights the best-undefeated fighter, and they had to find out who’s the best. And that’s what made the 1980 so special, and Errol Spence is a throwback type of fighter and Terence Crawford is a throwback type of fight.
“That’s the type of fight that we need. But Errol Spence is temporarily out of service because of his car, but the next possible choice is Manny Pacquiao. But Manny Pacquiao is going to be fighting Mikey Garcia, it looks like, so you’re going to have to go down the list.
“Who is someone who always puts up a great fight, and has never been stopped, and is coming off of a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, is Shawn Porter,” said Mora.
There’s no guesswork involved in who Crawford will be fighting once boxing restarts. It’s going to be former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, and that’ll be a tough fight for him. Brook has the power, size, and the experience to beat Crawford as long he doesn’t suffer an injury.
Porter vs. Crawford an excellent fight
“Shawn Porter is a fighter that I would love to see Crawford go against,” said Mora. “That’s a fight that makes sense to me as a fighter. If you can’t get him, then who is another fighter that just came off of a big fight? Jessie Vargas. I think Jessie Vargas is another important fight.
“That fight can get made [with Crawford], not only on DAZN but on any other platform, and that’s a fight that can be made. If not, then someone go look for Keith Thurman. Keith Thurman is another fighter I’d like to see Bud Crawford face.
“So these are excellent substitutes if you can’t get the big fights,” said Mora.
“I asked you to name one fighter, you named five fighters,” said Mannix to Mora. “Can you just name one fighter?”
Porter vs. Crawford would be a great fight if it could get made, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Crawford hasn’t seemed eager to take the fight for some reason. It could be the fact that Porter’s style is all wrong for Crawford with the way he comes inside, and uses his size and upper-body to pin his weaker opponents against the ropes.
Crawford has never fought anyone that has the kind of fighting style that Porter possesses, and this could get ugly for him quickly. Porter could mug Crawford, and prevent him from counter-punching and changing stances.
All the stuff that Crawford does typically to win his fights won’t work with Porter’s style, which is all wrong for him. I think Crawford knows that, and that’s why he’s not taken Porter up on his offer to fight him.
Would Crawford fight Patrick Teixeira?
“I have no problem with Shawn Porter,” said Mannix. “He’s an excellent fighter, and it’s a very good fight, but his availability is in question too [for a fight against Terence Crawford]. The fight that I would like to see immediately would be Terence Crawford against [WBO junior middleweight champion] Patrick Teixeira.
“Patrick Teixeira on DAZN one a piece of the 154-lb world title. He won a world title that was basically vacated by Jaime Munguia. He is a legitimate titleholder in the junior middleweight class. If Crawford is looking to have a consequential win on his resume, Teixeira is it.
“He [Crawford] would be jumping up to a weight class where he wouldn’t be all that comfortable. He would be fighting a very tough opponent, a very television-friendly opponent, and if he wins, he could add a world title to his resume and then go back to 147 with a stronger resume to pursue other fights. So Patrick Teixeira is my choice,” said Mannix in picking an opponent he’d like to see Crawford fight next.
WBO junior middleweight champion Teixeira (31-1, 22 KOs) may prove to be a little too hard of a fight for Crawford to take. Although Crawford’s chances of beating the 5’11 1/2″ Teixeira would be high, it could prove to be a grueling fight, and wouldn’t be the typical mismatch that he’s accustomed to having.
Teixeira is one of those fighters who is going to go out on his shield, and he’s not just going to lie down be a victim. Crawford has become spoiled with all the soft touches that his promoters at Top Rank Boxing has set him up with, and he might be willing to take on a tough guy like Teixeira.
Crawford would have a chance to become 4-division champ
“Patrick Teixeira compared to the names I just mentioned, I don’t get it, but you made a good point, finally,” said Mora to Mannix. “Yes, it’s for a belt, he picked up a world title belt, and that’s important. Anytime you can pick up one of these, you’re in business, baby. They don’t give those out for writing. You have to wait in line or something. Do something greater with your life, Chris,” said former one-hit-wonder Mora.
“I’m surprised you were able to dust the cobwebs off that from 20-years ago when you won it,” said Mannox to Mora in talking about the WBC 154-lb title that he briefly held 12-years ago in 2008 when he beat Vernon Forrest by a 12 round decision in an upset win.
