By Chris Williams: Shawn Porter says he won’t accept a $1 million “lowball” offer for a fight against Terence Crawford, and he feels he’s worth a lot more than that. Porter, 33, says he’ll 100% face Crawford in 2021 if the money is right, and it’ll be a “Fight of Te]he Year” candidate.
The former IBF/WBC welterweight champion Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) wants WBO 147-lb champion Crawford’s promoter Bob Arum to use a lowball offer as a method to get out of making the fight.
If $1 million is all Arum is willing to pay Porter for a fight against Crawford, it might not necessarily be a case him disinterest on his part. You have to remember that Arum recently said that he’d lost big money on some of Crawford’s recent fights.
So one way of making some of that money back would be to offer Porter $1 million for a fight with Crawford that would likely make a lot of money.
On the other hand, if Arum isn’t certain that Crawford vs. Porter would bring in a lot of revenue, making a lowball offer is understandable.
Porter not agreeing to $1 million for Crawford fight
“I’m not taking a million,” said Porter to The Porter Way Podcast. “I’ve done the best I could in sending a message to Bob Arum, and I also know people that know Bob.
“I’ve told them, ‘Tell Mr. Arum, I don’t mean any disrespect, and I know he doesn’t. If you’re going to low ball me, don’t do it. If you feel that’s how you get out of fighting me, that’s weak.
“Don’t do it. However, if you want to make the fight happen, don’t lowball me. I’m worth more than a million dollars. F a million dollars. I’m going to keep it as clean as possible, but I’m not fighting Terence Crawford for 1 million dollars,” said Porter.
If that’s all Top Rank is offering Porter is $1 million for a fight against Crawford, it’s clear that he’s on his way out the door with the promotional company.
Aside from Porter, there aren’t any big names showing interest in fighting Crawford. Manny Pacquiao never speaks of wanting to him, and Errol Spence Jr already has a full plate of options for next year.
Spence recently said he would be willing to face Crawford if he agreed to a 60-40 or 70-30 purse split. Crawford laughed at those offers and responded by saying that he wants a 60-40 split in his favor. That’s not happening, though, and it’s pointless for either of them to continue talk of ever fighting.
Shawn will fight Crawford in 2021 if the money is right
“We’re fighting next year, as long as the money is right,” said Porter about him being willing to fight Crawford if the money is right in 2021.
“Outside of that, what would I have to argue about? We’re going to fight at the MGM in Vegas. We’re not going anywhere else to fight. Even if there aren’t any fans, I’ve been there and done that. I think the world needs it.
“If next year rolls around, and I’m not getting my fight with Terence, I’m not getting my fight with EJ, and for whatever reason, Manny Pacquiao isn’t willing to fight me.
“I’ve already expressed my disinterest in fighting Keith Thurman, but again, I understand that if that’s the only thing I can get and he turns up and gets an injury or something like that, you may not see Shawn Porter fight in 2021.
“I’m not fighting one of the young guys. There are guys that haven’t earned the right to be in the ring with me, and I’m not going to take a step back,” said Porter.
‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter isn’t saying how much he wants for a fight against Crawford, but you have to assume it’s more than the $2 million Kell Brook received for his recent clash against Bud.
It’s quite possible that Porter would want north of $5 million to face Crawford, as the pay-per-view buys would likely be substantial on ESPN. Porter is a good talker, and he’d do the heavy lifting in promoting the Crawford fight.
With Arum holding up Crawford’s end by doing most of the interviews to get fans interested, Crawford-Porter would probably be the best pay-per-view event of Terence’s 13-year professional career.
The bar is low for Porter vs. Crawford to outdo Terence’s two past PPV fights involving Viktor Postol and Amir Khan. Those fights should have never been on pay-per-view if you ask me.
Porter wants Pacquiao, Spence, and Crawford
“This is going to be Fight of the Year or a candidate for Fight of The Year,” Porter said of a fight between him and Crawford.
“There’s no doubt, I know who I am, and I know what I can do. Beyond that, I spoke to my dad on Wednesday. I said, ‘Have you talked to AH [Al Haymon]?’ And he said, ‘No, we haven’t talked in a little bit.’
“I said, ‘Have you thought about anything as far as the mandatory’s are concerned about activating these clauses that I have been seeing in the news.’
“He said, ‘No, I don’t know about that. Let me give him a call.’ That was on Wednesday. I expressed to him my interest in fighting one of three people next year, if not two or all three.
“Those three being Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford, and Errol Spence,” added Porter.
Shawn’s best chance of fighting one of those big three is for him to face Crawford, as Pacquiao isn’t going to fight him, and Spence is targeting Canelo Alvarez. If Spence doesn’t get Canelo in 2021, he could get Pacquiao.
Spence vs. Keith Thurman would be a big fight, as the boxing public would like to see those two finally battle it out. Surprisingly, Porter has no interest in fighting Thurman again. You have to believe that the real reason for that is Porter, not certain that he would win.
Thurman has a style that is all wrong for him, and it doesn’t matter that he’s not the same guy he used to be. Porter isn’t the same either, and he has problems with fighters that move.
Thurman doesn’t interest Porter
“I specifically told him that I don’t want to fight Keith Thurman,” Porter continued about what he told his dad, Kenny Porter.
“I feel like he’d been out of the mix for too long, and I’m going, to be honest, I think he’ll be looking for a money grab.
“At some point, he’s going to be backed up, and there’s going to be no one for him to fight because he’s not worthy of fighting a champion.
“He doesn’t want to fight anybody like a Josesito Lopez or anybody like that, which isn’t going to give him the money he wants.
“So he’s right there in the middle of it all, and he’s not going to fight anybody that doesn’t have a belt, and that would be me, and not fight anyone that can’t give him the money that he wants.
“The only one that can give him the money that he wants is me. I know at some point, he’s going to stop screaming Terence Crawford and Errol Spence because they’re not going to want to fight him.
“Then he’s going to start to come my way. I’ve been down that road in 2016. It’s four years later, and I’ve done nothing but continue to go up and progress.
“I think that he has not done that, and with that being said, this can’t be the last door that you’re knocking on because you feel it’s the only one for you. I get that. It was a big fight back in the day in 2016,” Porter said about his loss to Thurman.
“I think even now it would be a big fight. There’s a lot of questions. With Keith, there were a lot of questions when he made his comeback against Josesito Lopez, and we saw holes,” said Shawn in talking about Thurman.
Porter’s expectations are a little too high with him wanting Spence, Pacquiao or Porter in 2021. The most realistic name of the bunch is Crawford, but it’s not a good sign that he’s being offered $1 million.
If Porter can get a rematch with Thurman, he should take it because it might be as good as it gets for him next year. Porter says he doesn’t want to fight the young guns Vergil Ortiz Jr and Jaron Ennis.
Also, Porter doesn’t seem interested in facing Yordenis Ugas in a rematch, and that’s a guy that he should be facing a guy to clear up the controversy over their fight in 2019.
Spence rematch makes more sense
‘There’s no secret that the fight would have played out a lot differently with him and I, then with Danny and he, but I didn’t want to be the first guy that he got back in the ring with,” Porter said about Spence.
“He half prepared for the fight, and then we see him in the ring against Manny Pacquiao. Okay, Keith is still there, and he can be relevant in the sport. He lost to Manny, but he lost to a legend.
“We saw how he lost. He didn’t get beaten down. I know he had some injuries. The same goes for Errol Spence Jr. Coming off that accident, I didn’t want to be the first guy he got in the ring with.
“Now that we can see what he can do, it’s worthy of another great fight. For myself, I feel like I’m beyond the rematch [with Keith Thurman], and I’m looking for something better.
“Even in expressing to my dad how much I’d like a fight with Terence Crawford, if we talk about the money, you fight Errol Spence Jr because you know everybody is going to get done right. The share is going to be what it’s supposed to be. There’s no question if you go Errol Spence Jr’s way,” said Porter.
If somehow Porter can talk his way into a rematch with Spence in 2021, that sounds like a better deal for him than putting energy into a Crawford fight. If Porter cant’ get the money he wants to face Crawford, he’s better off going in another direction.