By: Hans Themistode
Kenny Porter is still on the receiving end of backlash following his decision to pull his son, former two-time welterweight titlist Shawn Porter, during the tail end of the 10th round against Terence Crawford.
Though the two fought on mostly even terms throughout their November showdown, Crawford took his game to another level during the 10th. The WBO welterweight champion scored two consecutive knockdowns during the period which ultimately led to Kenny waving the white flag before his son accrued any more physical damage.
Several fans and fighters, including unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., believe Kenny was a bit quick on the trigger. Yet, despite those sentiments, Kenny sleeps well at night, believing he ultimately made the right call. While Crawford has received universal praise for his ability to hand Porter the first stoppage defeat of his illustrious career and subsequently ushering him into retirement, Kenny has also tipped his cap to the Omaha, Nebraska, native. However, the long-time trainer is firmly of the belief that his son’s untimely demise was more so a result of sloppy footwork rather than deleterious blows.
“I saw Shawn get caught in a situation where he had his feet squared up,” said Porter to a group of reporters recently. “That’s a basic fundamental no no. His feet was squared up and he went down from a punch that I didn’t think was the hardest punch.”
Shortly after their contest came to an end, video surfaced depicting someone in the corner of Crawford informing him that he was down on the scorecards. His calm and cool demeanor immediately turned into rage as the 34-year-old was in disbelief. Moments later, Crawford ended their contest in the very next round.
Following their showdown, Crawford, in fact, was up across the board. Judge Max DeLuca had it 87-84 in favor of Crawford, while Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld had it 86-85 in favor of Crawford as well.
Regardless of the actual scores, Kenny Porter maintains that even if he was informed that his son was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards, his thought process would’ve remained the same.
“If somebody came up to me and said ‘hey Kenny, Shawn’s ahead’ and the same thing happened, I would’ve made that same decision.”