By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska will be defending the title for the fifth time when he takes on former WBC and IBF Welterweight champion Shawn Porter of Akron, Ohio this Saturday, November 20th. The 12-round bout from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen on PPV in North America while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena. Crawford last fought a year ago when he stopped Kell Brook in the fourth round while Porter last saw action in August of last year when he beat Sebastian Formella via a 12-round unanimous decision to capture the vacant WBC Silver Welterweight Title.
The 34-year-old Crawford enters the fight as a three-division world champ with a perfect record of 37-0 with 28 Kos. The former lightweight and super lightweight champion possesses excellent foot and hand speed and better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 75.7 per cent. He’s an accurate puncher who often changes from the orthodox to southpaw stance and owns a solid chin, but sometimes gets off to a slow start.
Basically, Crawford is the total package and is considered as one boxing brightest stars and pound-for-pound fighters. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 74-inch reach and has boxed 208 rounds as a pro since making his debut in 2008 following an excellent amateur career. He owns wins over the likes of Amir Khan, Jose Benavidez, Jeff Horn, Thomas Dulorme, Raymundo Beltran, Dierry Jean, Hank Lundy, Breidis Prescott, Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Viktor Postol, John Molina Jr., Felix Diaz and Julius Indongo.
Crawford beat Burns by unanimous decision in 2014 for the WBO Lightweight title and defended it twice. He beat Dulorme by sixth-round stoppage for the vacant WBO Jr. Welterweight title in April, 2015 and defended it five times. Crawford also defended the WBC Jr. Welterweight crown three times after winning it from Postol by unanimous decision in July, 2016. He then became the undisputed champion of the division with 2017’s third-round knockout over Indongo as he added the WBA and IBF belts to his collection.
The 33-year-old Porter won the vacant WBC title in September, 2018 when he beat Danny Garcia by unanimous decision then defended it against Yordenis Ugas by split decision but lost it to Errol Spence Jr by split decision in September, 2019. He’s now 31-3-1 with 17 Kos and is also a former IBF Welterweight Champion. He lost that title via a close majority decision to Kell Brook in August, 2014 with his other defeat being a unanimous decision to WBA Champ Keith Thurman in June, 2016.
His lone draw was a 10-round affair against Julio Diaz in 2012. Porter’s a blue-collar boxer with a lot of energy to burn, but isn’t known as a big puncher with a a current knockout ratio of 48.6 per cent. Porter stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 69.5-inch wingspan which means he’s an inch shorter than Crawford and gives up 4.5 inches in reach.
Porter enjoyed a fine amateur career before turning pro in 2008 and has 243 rounds under his belt since then. His best victories have been against Andre Berto, Adrien Broner, Julio Diaz in a rematch, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, Phil Lo Greco, Erick Bone and Alfonso Gomez. Porter has a pretty good chin, but Broner and Spence did manage to drop him late in their fights. He’s also been taken the distance in 13 of his last 16 contests.
Prediction…
As mentioned, Crawford’s sometimes a slow starter and that could see him lose some early rounds due to Porter’s whirlwind style. Both men are comfortable in boxing matches and slugfests but Crawford has the edge in both power and the ability to take a punch. Crawford may be an elite boxer but he can still be hit and Porter needs to take advantage of that fact. It’s unlikely Porter’s power will bother Crawford but his non-stop punching style may. This should be a good, close fight and test for both boxers and it’s one that could go either way if it goes the distance. Don’t be surprised by any outcome here if it goes to the scorecards but the edge in power could swing things in Crawford’s favour.
