Terence Crawford has made the statement he needed to, cementing his status as one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters with a TKO win over Shawn Porter.
A spirited Porter took it right to the WBO welterweight champion until the 10th round when he was knocked down twice, with the second seeing Porter’s father and trainer Kenny throw the towel in.
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Speaking after the fight, Porter admitted to have been surprised by his father’s call but backed the decision.
“He’s doing what he knows he needs to do,” he said.
“I didn’t expect that. We never had a conversation like that. We just have an unspoken understanding that if he sees what he needs to see, he’s going to do what he did. I didn’t expect that.
“Yes [I could have gone on].
“The punches he was catching me [were] too clean. I think that’s what my dad saw. I saw and felt it. I just think my timing was a little off, great fighter over there wouldn’t allow me to catch my rhythm. He’s a dynamite dude in and out of the ring.”
Crawford had compiled a flawless 37-0 (28 by knockout) record during his 13-year professional career but Sunday’s WBO welterweight title was a completely different test entirely.
A test that he welcomed, a chance to finally silence his critics against an elite welterweight challenger who had proven himself capable of pushing the best of the best.
Porter is a two-time champion and pushed Errol Spence Jr. to his absolute limits in 2019.
Crawford, meanwhile, through no fault of his own was yet to face the truly elite fighters of the welterweight division – Errol Spence, Keith Thurman and Manny Pacquiao.
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That changed on Sunday with Porter representing a chance for Crawford to finally put an end to the disrespect, to prove himself on the world stage once more and this time against a worthy opponent.
“He’s been dogged by critics… told you haven’t fought anyone of note,” boxing great Andre Ward said pre-fight.
“We know you’re a good fighter but how good. Today the table is set for Terence Crawford to show the world just how good or great he is.”
And great he is, with Crawford overcoming one hell of a fight from Porter in the 10th round.
Crawford was calm and composed early, as usual, taking the opening rounds to survey the situation and get a read on Porter.
The two-time champion Porter landed just three of 15 punches in the first round but was the more active of the two while still making sure to keep his aggression controlled, working behind the jab.
Porter kept that aggression coming in the second round but Crawford responded with bigger shits as he turned southpaw in the hopes of catching his opponent.
Heading back to his corner though, Crawford was warned by his trainer Brian McIntyre to not “get into a firefight with this mother***er”.
Going into the third it remained a battle between Porter’s calculated aggression and Crawford’s countering.
The former paid off as Porter landed a big right hand that sent Crawford stumbling, although the challenger did finish the round with a deep cut from a clash of heads.
The score was even later in the sixth round when Crawford himself was opened up after a cut from an accidental head clash.
Porter had already gained a reputation for being fearless long before this fight and that was telling in the ring as he continued to land more and outwork the champion.
From there, the question was whether Porter was going to tire in the later rounds, at which Crawford could then strike with the decisive blow.
That came, twice, in the 10th round as Crawford stopped Porter late and made an epic statement.
‘I’M READY TO DIE’: REF STOPS FIGHT AFTER BRUTAL BEATING
Before the action got underway in the main event, there was drama in an earlier bout between Hassan N’Dam and Janibek Alimkhanuly.
N’Dam copped an absolute beating in his TKO defeat to Alimkhanuly.
Yet, even after eight rounds of pain, N’Dam wanted to keep going when referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight.
“No, no, no,” he repeated.
“I’m ready to die.”
The fight, in reality, could have been stopped much sooner with Alimkhanuly landing 111 power punches to N’Dam’s 65 in a dominant win.
With the victory Alimkhanuly improved to an undefeated 11-0 record while the loss sees the veteran N’Dam’s record slip to 38-6.
FULL CARD
Terence Crawford def. Shawn Porter by TKO, WBO welterweight championship
Esquiva Falcao def. Patrice Volny by technical decision, middleweight
Janibek Alimkhanuly def. Hassan N’Dam by TKO, middleweight
Raymond Muratalla def. Elias Araujo by TKO, lightweight
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