Porter: I guarantee I beat Crawford, this a great opportunity
Porter says he’s looking forward to the chance to prove to the world, and himself, just how good he can really be.
Former welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter takes some time to chat with Fight Hype about his big upcoming fight against current champion Terence Crawford and why this is a fight he’s been looking forward to for some time. Porter says the he’ll prepare himself for Crawford better than he’s prepared himself for any prior opponent and is confident he’ll walk out of the ring with a world title across his waist.
On why the Crawford fight is happening and got done
“I think maybe more than anybody else in this world I’ve probably wanted this fight. It was a result of after my fight with Errol Spence Jr people still wanted Errol Spence Jr-Terence Crawford but then I started hearing they might want to see me fight Terence. We had had a conversation long ago we weren’t gonna let nobody else talk us into fighting (one another) and just started to think about it and was like ‘wow, that would be a great fight.’
“After my fight in 2020 I was like ‘if it’s not Terence Crawford I’m not getting back in the ring.’ And I think I made that agreement with myself and I never told my dad and my dad was still pushing me to get in the ring earlier this year and that never happened so I was just holding on. The WBO has my love and respect forever because you talk about who wanted the fight the most, who made this fight happen, I think if the WBO didn’t step up and do what they did we may not be getting this fight.”
On if he thinks he’s facing the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today
“Canelo is my #1 guy, and Terence, he’s right up there...If we talking the welterweight division, I’m fighting the next best guy to myself...It is (my toughest opponent thus far) because I think more than Errol Spence Jr, more than Keith Thurman, Terence Crawford is the most versatile fighter in the world. I think it’s a track race between he and I and you pick who finishes in 9.6 and who finishes in 9.62 — it’s that close.
“I think he and I are the most athletic fighters in the world in boxing and I think he and I both have a lot of attributes...It’s a tall order but I’m used to that.”
On if he feels like he’s at his peak in terms of physical capability mixed with world-level professional experience
“It’s a very sweet spot. My dad has always taught me boxing is just like life...you know at 33, somehow, someway, you’re wiser than you were when you were 26 and at 26 you just knew that was as smart as you were gonna be...seven years later you look up and you’re just different, you’re better, and you’re more equipped and prepared. The fortunate side of that for me is I’ve always protected my body...in a lot of ways I’m preserved. Terence Crawford is also preserved.
“Terence Crawford has not been in any wars, he does not get injured in training, he does not have heart failure the week before a match and not show up like the Terence Crawford that we all know. So that’s even the cooler part of getting in the ring with him, we’ve never seen him on a bad night. You can’t say that about Shawn Porter, you’ve seen some bad nights from Shawn Porter. We’ve seen bad nights from other fighters, we can’t say that about Terence Crawford and I love that.
“This, for me, is me simply wanting to prove that I am as good as I know that I am, that people may not know...if there was one fight that I could say that after this fight I want everybody to say ‘Shawn Porter was great’ this is the fight.
“I guarantee I win this fight. Guarantee it.”