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“Terence Is Different” Crawford Pounds Shawn Porter Into Retirement | Becomes First To Ever Knock Out “Showtime”

Posted byBy Rhett Butler | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Terence “Bud” Crawford had the biggest test of his career last night against the best version of “Showtime” Shawn Porter and came out on top.

Crawford delivered a 10th round TKO, dropping Porter twice until father-trainer Kenny Porter stopped the fight from the corner. The stop came at 1 minute, 21 seconds, and it was the first time that Shawn Porter was ever stopped in his solid career.

Terence Crawford Needs To Defeat Shawn Porter For His Legacy, Not Errol Spence

The fight occurred at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay, and Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title. Crawford made $6 million, and Porter pocketed $4 million for the fight.

The Best vs. The Best

“His dad did the right thing by stopping it because I was coming with a vengeance,” Crawford said during the post-fight in-ring interview.

Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) stepped to the challenge that the world has constantly told him he’s avoided, a top-tier welterweight. Porter (31-4-1), a two-time welterweight champion, has fought everyone that mattered popularly in the welterweight division.

For Crawford, a fight against Porter was the testing ground he needed. “Showtime” pressured Crawford the entire fight, keeping his foot on the gas pedal in an attempt to take away Crawford’s ability to download data.

A True Test

Essentially, Porter’s plan was effective, as “Bud” was in the roughest fight of his career. There were two head-butts in the fight; one from Crawford opened up Porter’s right eye, and another from Porter opened a cut inside Crawford’s left eye.

However, as Porter unleashed his onslaught and kept Crawford thinking, his plan fell apart as Crawford threw fewer punches but was more accurate.

“He’s the best out of everybody I have been in the ring with,” said Porter during the post-fight interview. “He was on point, A-Z, and he was that good.”

The Stoppage

The decision to step up to the ring apron and stop the fight was controversial, although Porter was taking punishment at the end. Kenny Porter explained his decision right after the fight to the chagrin and boos from the crowd.

“He didn’t prepare like I wanted him to prepare. He fought a great fighter, [but] it was like fighting him blindfolded. When guys get to certain levels, they believe they know what they are doing. Shawn was hurt. [Crawford’s] a sharp fighter, and my kid was at a deficit and I couldn’t let it go on.”

Although Porter was more active, Crawford was ahead on all three scorecards. The judge’s cards were 86-85, 87-84, and 86-85, all for Crawford, at the stoppage.

Shawn Porter announced his retirement after the fight.

Simply The Best

“You see what I did compared to what he did,” Crawford said during the post-fight interview. Crawford referred to Spence’s split-decision victory over Porter.

“Who’s No. 1 in the welterweight division now? You know who I want. I’ve been calling him out all day. Maybe Spence will get his tail out of his butt and fight me.”

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) was in the arena last night. The WBC and IBF champion’s last fight was almost a year ago against Danny Garcia. The two were angling for an eventual showdown until Spence had a horrific car crash in his hometown of Dallas in October 2019.

Since then, talks between the two have cooled, but Spence’s appearance at the fight could indicate his interest. However, whether the fight is made or not, Crawford made it clear he won’t be pursuing it under the Top Rank promotional banner.

New Beginnings

The Porter fight was the last on his Top Rank contract.

“I’m pretty sure my decision is made already,” Crawford said during the post-fight press conference. “Bob [Arum] couldn’t secure me the Spence fight when I was with him, so how is he going to secure me the Spence fight when I’m not with him? I’m moving forward with my career now.”

Terence Crawford proved that he is possibly the world’s best welterweight and has left the ball in Errol Spence’s court to disprove that.

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