Kenny Porter didn’t provide details but he made it clear that he wasn’t happy with his son’s preparation for his fight against Terence Crawford on Saturday, which he lost by 10th-round knockout.
The elder Porter stopped the fight after the second of two knockdowns to save his wounded son from further punishment.
He was asked in the ring immediately afterward, with the Mandalay Bay crowd listening, why he made that decision.
“Honestly? His preparation. He didn’t prepare like I wanted him to,” said Kenny Porter, which drew boos from the spectators and a smile from an embarrassed Shawn Porter. “That just makes me say, ‘You know what? I don’t want him in that situation.’
“He fought a great fighter. The guy’s super sharp. And [Shawn is] at a deficit. It’s like fighting this guy blindfolded when you’re in a deficit like that. So I wasn’t going to let that happen to him.”
The trainer was asked how his son could’ve been better prepared.
“When guys get to a certain level they believe they know what they’re doing and they don’t necessarily take all the information,” he said. “So this is where we’re at with it. And I had to make that decision.
“I was an easy decision for me. Easy. He lives right across the street from me. I’ll be having breakfast with him in the morning.”
Easy, indeed. He didn’t hesitate to end matters when things looked bleak.
“Shawn was hurt,” he said. “And moving forward, this guy, like I said, he’s a sharp fighter. And my kid is at a deficit at that point. He can’t defend himself like he should. And I had to protect him.”
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