By Chris Williams: Terence Crawford is food for Shawn Porter, who claims that he knows that he would knock him out if that fight were to happen. Getting Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) to accept a fight with Porter may prove to be difficult, if not impossible.
With Porter’s smothering inside fighting style, he would force Crawford into the type of fight where his counter-punching style would useless to him. If you’re Crawford and his promoters at Top Rank, the last thing you want is to have Porter inside the ring.
It’s a horrendously bad style match-up for Crawford, one that he would have very little chance of winning.
Crawford, 33, is still entertaining the idea of maybe getting picked by Manny Pacquiao for his next fight.
Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) said he heard that Crawford might fight fringe contender Josesito Lopez next, and when he found that out, he decided to remind him on social media that he’ll be ready to face him in May.
The 36-year-old ‘Riverside Rocky’ Josesito Lopez (38-8, 21 KOs) isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the WBO, so it’s unclear how the World Boxing Organization would sanction a fight between him and Crawford.
For Crawford to take a fight against Lopez over Porter, it would be viewed by fans as a ducking move by the Nebraska native.
Porter knows he can KO Crawford
“That’s why I felt the Tweet needed to be put out,” said Porter to Fighthype about him putting pressure on Crawford.
“So if these people out here want a great fight, Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter is a great fight.
“I’m not attacking Terence Crawford, and I’m not trying to get under his skin or anything like that at all. I know that he is the type of guy that I can knock out,” said Porter about Crawford.
Porter is ranked #1 by the WBO, but he’s going to have to let the sanctioning body know he’s ready to challenge Crawford because it doesn’t look like he’s going to voluntarily fae him.
“Before seeing the Tweet that was put out about him possibly fighting Josesito Lopez. I’ve been in the gym a couple of weeks now, getting my mind right and getting my body right.
“I saw the Tweet [about Crawford possibly fighting Josesito]. I’m not a loud guy, but I speak my mind, and I say what I feel.
“Everything I said in that short little Tweet is on my mind and what I feel,” said Porter about the Tweet he sent to Crawford this week, saying that he’ll be ready to face him in May.
“I saw it, and I was like, ‘End of May. I’ll be ready at the end of May. I should Tweet that.’ That’s how it happened. I think he [Crawford] feels that I’m attacking him. I’m not attacking him.
“I’m just letting him know, ‘I’m here, hashtag, the best fighting the best.’ Give people what they need. People want to be entertained, and people want to be in the midst of greatness.
The way that Porter is talking, he really wants a piece of Crawford, and I don’t know how he’s going to be able to avoid facing him for long. Many boxing fans are already thinking Crawford is ducking Porter.
But if Crawford takes a fight with Josesito Lopez, who is arguably a journeyman fighter, it’s going to be obvious at that point that he doesn’t want any part of facing Porter.
“If you’re not in the arena, people want to see greatness on TV. That’s why we have pay-per-view because those are moments where people feel like, ‘This is something great, I can’t pass it up.
“Let me hit that buy.’ Me fighting Terence Crawford is that buy that I feel everybody needs. I think there’s no secret what’s going to happen when I get in the ring. If anything, you’re wondering, ‘should I buy this fight or not?’
“You know what Shawn Porter is going to do. Shawn Porter has never not delivered, and I say that as humbly as possible, but that’s me. I deliver,” said Porter.