By: Sean Crose
There’s fighter’s out there without half the talent of Terence Crawford, yet somehow breeze through life with ten times the hype. In an age of division, both in and outside the sport of boxing, Crawford was able to become an undisputed champion at junior welterweight, Aaron Pryor’s own division. That didn’t bring the praise, though, as – unlike Pryor – Crawford (through no fault of his own) had yet to face a marquee opponent. Those days are over now that’s it’s been announced Crawford will be facing the hard charging Shawn Porter for Crawford’s WBO welterweight title this November in a Las Vegas Pay Per View Event.
He’s no joke, Porter, a man who has faced a whose who of top names, from Kell Brook, to Danny Garcia, to Adrien Broner, to Keith Thurman to Errol Spence. Again, Porter’s the real thing, and there’s no guarantee he won’t walk out of the ring this November with Crawford’s WBO belt in his possession. At the moment, though, boxing fans seem to be happy for Crawford for finally getting a big fight – and for themselves for finally getting the chance to see the Nebraska native in a legit premiere attraction. Not that Crawford hasn’t faced top opposition in his time.
He’s bested Brook, after all, as well as a young and fearsome Yuriorkis Gamboa. Toss in the likes of Viktor Postol. Amir Khan, and Ray Beltran and it’s clear the fighter known as Bud has himself an impressive resume. The 33 year old recently seemed to be at risk of fading into oblivion, however, as a possible great who never truly got to prove himself. Talked about fights with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Thurman, and Spence went nowhere, leaving the three division titlist without a dance partner of true note. With the match with Porter set, though, the wall between Crawford’s promoter, Top Rank, and Porter’s promoter, Premiere Boxing Champions, appears to have yet again fallen (it happens sometimes).
Should Crawford best Porter, then, there won’t be a precedent to keep a superfight with the likes of Spence from happening, as Spence is himself a PBC man. “Now I can show my talent,” Crawford told ESPN upon the Porter match being made, “and maybe I can show something for the general public, something that they’ve never seen before. Because I don’t believe that I’ve showed them my best yet.” Here’s hoping. This fight with Porter has all the makings of being a terrific one.
