By: Hans Themistode
Regardless of how much Shawn Porter believes he should be paid to face WBO welterweight belt holder Terence Crawford, promoter Bob Arum refuses to open his wallet anymore than he has to.
For the former two-time welterweight titlist, Porter currently finds himself in an ideal situation. At the moment, the Ohio native occupies the number one spot in both the WBC and WBO sanctioning bodies, as well as the number two ranking in the IBF.
With a wide variety of championship bouts at his disposal, Porter expressed a desire to take on WBO belt holder Terence Crawford. However, with Arum offering Porter only one million dollars for his services, the former champions balked at the offer, claiming that it was somewhat of a slap in the face. To Arum, on the other hand, he simply doesn’t understand how Porter, or anyone for that matter, could scoff at the possibility of pocketing a cool million dollars.
“I read someplace that he felt that I insulted him by only offering him a million dollars,” said Arum during a recent interview with Barbershop Conversations. “I’m old fashion, I don’t know why a million dollars would be an insult to anybody.”
For the 33-year-old Porter, there’s a reason why he feels offended by what he believes is a paltry offer from Arum. Not only is the Las Vegas, resident a multiple-time belt holder, but he also managed to rake in over 300,000 pay-per-view buys in his September unification bout against unified champion Errol Spence Jr. in 2019.
When juxtaposing resumes to previous Crawford opponents, Porter believes he is of a much higher stature. In Crawford’s most recent appearance in the ring, the WBO belt holder made quick work of British product Kell Brook with a fourth-round stoppage victory. While Brook was once a former champion in his own right, at the age of 34, his best days are seemingly behind him.
Although his time in the ring against Crawford was a short one, Brook was reportedly paid two million dollars for his efforts, making Arum’s one million dollar offer to Porter an even bigger insult according to the rugged contender.
Still, even with Porter viewed as the most accomplished and dangerous opponent Crawford has ever faced, Arum has drawn a line in the sand.
“He should work a deal with me on upside. I’m not guaranteeing more than a million dollars, I’m just not, not in these times.”
