Terence “Bud” Crawford stops Showtime Shawn Porter in the first minutes of the 10th round. The fight was thought to be Crawford’s first elite test in the welterweight division, considering Porter was a 2-time welterweight champion and has faced top guys like Errol Spence Jr, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, and many more.
Crawford may have been ranked as a top pound-for-pound fighter because of his skills and being an undisputed champion at light-welterweight. Still, his opposition in the welterweight does not match Spence’s, but his stoppage over Porter might change some opinions.
The fight was even with Porter being more aggressive, but Crawford also landed his shots. Porter also had a great game plan where he would lunge in and make the fight more of a brawl; he needed to take chances to close the distance and land his shots since he was the shorter guy.
Most of the rounds were close and could have gone either way; Crawford got hit, but he seems to take the punches like a champ, and Porter’s athleticism was just explosive. Crawford was collecting the data as the round went on, and he managed time Porter over and over again.
In the 10th round, both fighters did not even look gassed and were ready to fight, but that was when Crawford landed the counter uppercut that knocked Porter down. Porter did not look fazed and was still fit to fight, but then his timing and rhythm were all off, and that was when Crawford capitalized. Crawford managed to knock Porter down for the second time, and Porter was so furious that he punched the canvas more than once. Porter’s corner decided to stop the fight instead.
It was Porter’s first stoppage loss; some thought that the fight was stopped too early and but according to Porter’s Dad and trainer, he knew what he was doing, and Shawn just lacked preparation. Crawford has successfully defended his WBO Welterweight belt.
The question is, what’s next for Terence Crawford? The fans want to see Spence Jr. vs. Crawford, two top pound-for-pound fighters also undefeated in their prime clash and prove who is the best welterweight in the world.
