Shawn Porter reacts to WBO ordering Terence Crawford fight

By Boxing News - 07/28/2021 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Shawn Porter is ecstatic about the news of the WBO ordering a fight between him and 147-lb champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) has been trying to get a fight with Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) for a long time, but he’s had no luck until now.

It’s still not sure that the Crawford vs. Porter fight will get made, but at least now there’s less wriggle room for Terence and his promoters at Top Rank to squirm free.

“We’re happy to see the announcement. A pleasant surprise. At this point, it’s just a matter of time, I think,” said Porter on his Podcast on YouTube.

“I think the news was awesome. Everybody’s excited about me and Terence.”

What was more than a little strange was how little Porter said about the Crawford fight. He briefly spoke about it on his Podcast, preferring to talk about other fighters like Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.

It makes this writer wonder whether Porter will go ahead with the Crawford fight or instead take the rematch with Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman.

Before last weeks’ announcement by the World Boxing Organization of ordering the Crawford-Porter fight, there were rumors that Porter would be facing former WBA/WBC 147-lb champion Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) next.

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In some ways, Thurman vs. Porter is a better fight for Shawn than a match against Crawford, which might not bring in a lot of PPV buys.

Thurman gets many boxing fans excited about his fights, and Porter would be able to take advantage of his ability to promote his matches by making a lot of money from the PPV.

It’s a better style match-up on paper for Porter fighting Thurman than the counter-punching Crawford. If Porter is going to go in the direction of Thurman instead, he should let Top Rank and the boxing public know soon.

It’s a waste of time for Porter to let the fight drag out, making people think he’s going to fight Crawford when in reality, he may be taking on Thurman.

If not for the WBO ordering Bud to defend against #2 WBO Porter, Crawford, 33, would reportedly defend against #6 David Avanesyan, which would have been an excellent fight.

Avaneysan is a good fighter and much better than the guys Crawford has faced since he moved up to 147 in 2018.

Image: Shawn Porter reacts to WBO ordering Terence Crawford fight

It’s debatable whether Porter is a better fighter than Avanesyan at this point in his career, but he’s more of a household name in the U.S.

Porter, 33, says he was surprised at the World Boxing Organization choosing to order the fight with Crawford, but he’s glad that they finally did.

When Porter tried to get a fight with Crawford earlier this year, he was told to stay on ‘standby” by Terence.