By Matt Lieberman: Jermall Charlo is picking Shawn Porter to score a knockout of WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford this Saturday night on November 20th at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
WBC middleweight champion Charlo says he’s picking former IBF/WBC 147-lb champion Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) to win on Saturday because Crawford said some stuff about his brother Jermell, which is an unusual reason to be picking against him.
Former IBF light welterweight champion Regis Prograis says he’s going to with Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) to get the win. Picking Crawford is a safe pick, as he’s the betting favorite and most boxing fans believe he’ll be too good for Porter.
What makes it hard to go with the 33-year-old Porter is how bad he looked in his controversial 12 round split decision win over Yordenis Ugas in March 2019.
Most people that saw that fight had Ugas winning easily, and that was someone that Crawford would likely beat.
In Porter’s next fight after that, he lost to Errol Spence Jr. by a 12 round split decision in September 2019.
Porter did win his last fight against fringe contender Sebastian Formella last year in August, but that was a year and a half against a weak fringe contender.
Charlo picks Porter in late rounds
Jermall Charlo: “What do you want to say to your fans? What Bud Crawford going to do?
Regis Prograis: “Oh, Bud going to win,” said Regis Prograis in picking Crawford to defeat Porter.”
Jermall Charlo: “Bud going to win?
Prograis: “He going to win.”
Jermall: “I got Porter in the late rounds,” said Jermall Charlo on social media. “No, Bud was talking s*** about my brother, so I don’t give a f*** about nobody.”
Prograis: “But we were talking earlier and you said you don’t bet with emotion. How do you make the bread?”
Jermall: “I made a half-million dollars this year off of your stupid a** fighters. They already know I’m rich. It doesn’t matter. Regis, who do you got? He don’t want to mention anybody’s name because he’s scared of Porter. He got Bud because he’s scared of Porter.”
Prograis: “I’m not scared of nobody.”
Jermall: “He better not come up to 154. Hey Mel. Look how he looks. Look at him y’all.”
Prograis: “F*** y’all, how about that?”
Josh Taylor predicts Crawford vs. Porter
“Porter is a torrid night for anybody with his style, very crude and with his relentless pressure,” said Josh Taylor to Fighthype on the Crawford vs. Porter fight.
“He [Porter] comes forward, sits on your chest, and just hits you wherever you are. So he’s a very tough night for anybody.
“I believe there are going to be sticky moments in that fight and Shawn Porter is going to have a lot of success.
“In the end, I think the boxing brains and IQ will come out at the end and Crawford will probably come out on top at the end of that fight I imagine. It’s a massive fight, but anything can happen in boxing.
“It’s a really interesting fight but if I was a betting man, I’d probably put my money on Crawford for a points victory,” said Josh Taylor.