By: Sean Crose
The recently retired Shawn Porter is a tough boxer not to cheer for. The Ohio-born player not only possesses exciting form, he also encroached on all the other players, from Kell Brook, Danny Garcia, Paulie Malignaggi, Adrien Broner, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence to Terence Crawford. In a sense, Porter, being a professional boxer, was someone who didn’t fit his time. Boxing in the Porter era has just passed almost as it does now – where the brand of a boxer triumphs over ambition. That is clearly not the case with the man called “Showtime”.
So when Porter talks about contemporary fighting games, it’s worth listening to. When asked by co-host Anthony Brenagh on his podcast his thoughts on the recent Spence-Crawford explosion, where a battle many fans have longed for didn’t materialize, Porter remained polite. the as always – but pointed out. “You’re looking at the toughest guy in boxing,” he said of Crawford, “probably one of the toughest guys in the sport…if he doesn’t get what he feels like he is. worthy, what he wants, then he will say “I” I will go in a different direction. ‘”
Crawford is undeniably heading in a new direction. Having just signed with BLK Prime, he is set to take on David Avanesyan in the pay-per-view event on December 10. However, Porter also made it clear that the fighters are different. “Boxing is not the only thing on my mind,” he said of himself, “not the only thing I want to do.” As Porter goes on to point out, that’s not true of other fighters. “The others,” said Porter, “are squeezing those lemons.” Although the former welterweight player understands the fans’ frustration, Porter points out that the Spence-Crawford defeat isn’t worth leaving the sport. “At the end of the day, I encourage people not to give up boxing,” he laughs. “I hope that it will be right in the end.”
Porter then made a bold prediction. “I’m going to set the record because I say I think it’s right at 154,” he declared, “and I love both of them fighting at 154.” That means, although Spence and Crawford won’t be vying for the top spot in the welterweight division, as has been predicted, they will still be fighting in the junior middleweight division – something Porter himself appreciates. . However, perhaps the most interesting thing Porter has to say comes in the form of an admonition to fight fans, no matter what specific matches they want to watch.
“Until you see both of them in the press conference,” he said, “that’s when you know it’s real.”
