Tag: Crawford next fight

Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter reach deal for Nov. 20 showdown

Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter have reached a deal for a Nov. 20 showdown in Las Vegas.

Finally.

Terence Crawford will face his first significant test at 147 pounds when he defends his WBO title against former champ Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 at Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, ESPN has reported.

Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) is one of best fighters in the world – he’s No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list – and will be making the fight defense of his title.

However, he hasn’t faced a serious threat since he took the title from Jeff Horn by a ninth-round knockout form Jeff Horn in June 2018. He has beaten Jose Benavidez, Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliasuskas and Kell Brook since then.

Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) is a level above those fighters. He most-recently shut out limited Sebastian Formella in August of last year but pushed IBF and WBC titleholder Errol Spence Jr. to his limits 11 months before that, losing a split decision and his WBC belt.

Porter also has victories over Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, high-level triumphs Crawford can’t match. Crawford’s most significant victory might be his decision over Viktor Postol at 140 in 2016.

Thus, a victory over Porter would add legitimacy to his welterweight resume. He also was a former 140-pound champion.

“I’m very excited,” Crawford told ESPN. “Now I can show my talent and maybe I can show something for the general public, something that they’ve never seen before. Because I don’t believe that I’ve showed them my best yet.”

Porter also sees the fight as a significant opportunity.

“It’s extremely big,” he told ESPN. “… Experience means nothing if you don’t use it, but my record speaks for itself. Everyone’s seen what I’ve done, every experience that I’ve had, I’ve held onto them and I’ve used them to my advantage.

“When you consider the experience in this fight and me having more experience than Terence Crawford, that is a fact. … When I say the fight between me and Terence Crawford is going to be great, it’s gonna be great.

“When I say I have what it takes to beat him, don’t sleep on that, believe that. I do.”

Crawford had been unable to reach a deal with the other top welterweights in part because of promotional and managerial affiliation. Crawford is handled by Top Rank, Spence, Porter and others by Premier Boxing Champions.

The WBO ordered the fight between Crawford and Porter, which evidently was the catalyst to Crawford finally getting such a matchup. And it happened none too soon: Crawford, 33, could be in the latter stages of his peak period. Porter also is 33.

The Nov. 20 fight reportedly is the last under Crawford’s contract with Top Rank.

Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter reach deal for Nov. 20 showdown

Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter have reached a deal for a Nov. 20 showdown in Las Vegas.

Finally.

Terence Crawford will face his first significant test at 147 pounds when he defends his WBO title against former champ Shawn Porter on Nov. 20 at Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, ESPN has reported.

Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) is one of best fighters in the world – he’s No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list – and will be making the fight defense of his title.

However, he hasn’t faced a serious threat since he took the title from Jeff Horn by a ninth-round knockout form Jeff Horn in June 2018. He has beaten Jose Benavidez, Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliasuskas and Kell Brook since then.

Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) is a level above those fighters. He most-recently shut out limited Sebastian Formella in August of last year but pushed IBF and WBC titleholder Errol Spence Jr. to his limits 11 months before that, losing a split decision and his WBC belt.

Porter also has victories over Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, high-level triumphs Crawford can’t match. Crawford’s most significant victory might be his decision over Viktor Postol at 140 in 2016.

Thus, a victory over Porter would add legitimacy to his welterweight resume. He also was a former 140-pound champion.

“I’m very excited,” Crawford told ESPN. “Now I can show my talent and maybe I can show something for the general public, something that they’ve never seen before. Because I don’t believe that I’ve showed them my best yet.”

Porter also sees the fight as a significant opportunity.

“It’s extremely big,” he told ESPN. “… Experience means nothing if you don’t use it, but my record speaks for itself. Everyone’s seen what I’ve done, every experience that I’ve had, I’ve held onto them and I’ve used them to my advantage.

“When you consider the experience in this fight and me having more experience than Terence Crawford, that is a fact. … When I say the fight between me and Terence Crawford is going to be great, it’s gonna be great.

“When I say I have what it takes to beat him, don’t sleep on that, believe that. I do.”

Crawford had been unable to reach a deal with the other top welterweights in part because of promotional and managerial affiliation. Crawford is handled by Top Rank, Spence, Porter and others by Premier Boxing Champions.

The WBO ordered the fight between Crawford and Porter, which evidently was the catalyst to Crawford finally getting such a matchup. And it happened none too soon: Crawford, 33, could be in the latter stages of his peak period. Porter also is 33.

The Nov. 20 fight reportedly is the last under Crawford’s contract with Top Rank.

Terence Crawford vs. Pacquiao? Thurman? Porter? Ugas? Brook? Who?

Promoter Bob Arum listed a number of potential opponents he’s targeting for Terence Crawford.

Terence Crawford’s immediate future seems to be as uncertain as ever, although new potential opponents are emerging.

Bob Arum, his promoter, mentioned a number names in an interview with the U.K.’s talkSPORT. On top of the list? Fellow welterweight titleholder Manny Pacquiao, although that will have to wait until fans are allowed into arenas and stadiums. Among others: Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas and Kell Brook.

Another potential matchup that will have to wait: Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr., who is expected to fight Danny Garcia in his next fight.

And the fact that all the fighters mentioned above – except Brook – are aligned with rival Premier Boxing Champions doesn’t seem to be an obstacle in this case. At least that’s how Arum, of Top Rank, portrays it.

“That’s the opponent that I would most like Terence to fight, and I think he would,” Arum said of Pacquiao, who would make for the biggest fight. “Now, that requires a lot of money, and we’ve had proposals from the Mid[dle] East. I don’t know if those proposals will be available for this year. That is the problem.

“I don’t know whether the Mid-East venues will allow spectators this year. They may not allow it until there’s a vaccine. Otherwise, we have to look for Terence Crawford to fight a major welterweight.

“There are a number that are possibilities. Thurman, Porter or this kid Ugas, the Cuban who’s a good, good welterweight. They’re with Al [Haymon’s] company PBC, but we’re working well together with that company, so I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“And then finally there’s Kell Brook, whose management contacts me on almost a weekly basis. So the first possibility is Pacquiao, if that’s possible. Second possibility is a fight against one of Al’s guys. And the third possibility is Kell Brook if we can get him in the United States.”

Crawford, a former lightweight and junior welterweight titleholder, is generally considered one of the best fighters in the world but has been unable to lure a top welterweight into the ring.

He’s trying to be patient.

“I was a little disappointed, but at the same time it’s a process,” he told talkSPORT. “Everything will happen in good time. I believe that all those fights that I want and the fans want, we’ll get to see. That’s what I’m in the sport of boxing for, to take on the biggest and baddest challenges.

“I wanna fight all the big names at the end of the day, and that’s what I’ve been calling for since I came into the welterweight division. They can’t avoid me forever. But at the same time it’s a business, they wanna keep everything in house and they have the right to do so.

“But at the end of the day, they’re gonna have to see Terence Crawford.”

Video: Does staging Lomachenko-Lopez at new NFL stadium make sense?

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, the hosts discuss whether staging Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez in a stadium makes sense.

Promoter Bob Arum is searching for the ideal locations to stage fights for his stars.

That includes Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez, both of whom hold lightweight titles. One possible site floated by Arum: Allegiant Stadium, the new NFL venue in Las Vegas.

Arum suggested the crowd could be limited at the 65,000-capacity facility to allow for social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Does staging that fight in a sparsely attended stadium make sense? In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, courtesy of DAZN, hosts Akin Reyes and Barak Bess give their thoughts on that topic.

Here’s what they had to say.

The Ak & Barak Show is available on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation, Channel 156.

[jwplayer SCvV5nza]

Video: Ak & Barak discuss whether Crawford could retire Pacquiao

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, the hosts discuss whether Terence Crawford could retire Manny Pacquiao.

Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao reportedly are considering a title-unification bout against one another.

Pacquiao was able to get past Keith Thurman to win his 147-pound belt in July. However, would Crawford be biting off more than the 41-year-old Pacquiao could chew?

Thurman was coming back from a long layoff and a so-so performance in a tune-up fight against Josesito Lopez. Crawford is considered one of the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound.

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, courtesy of DAZN, hosts Akin Reyes and Barak Bess discuss how Pacquiao might fare against Crawford.

They also delve into whether the fight would have to wait until next year given the fact that the initial post-lock down cards will be staged without spectators.

Here’s what they had to say.

The Ak & Barak Show is available on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation, Channel 156.

[jwplayer g3iqOrt6]

 

Video: Ak & Barak speak to Terence Crawford about fighting Pacquiao

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, Terence Crawford discusses the intriguing possibility of facing Manny Pacquiao.

The boxing world seems to be fixated on welterweight titleholders Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. meeting in the ring sometime soon.

Another juicy possibility? Crawford vs Manny Pacquiao.

Crawford has reiterated that he’s interested in fighting Pacquiao when he returns to the ring post-lock down and says the Filipino icon wants the same thing.

The question, as usual, would be the terms. And the fact boxing cards will be staged without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic complicates matters, at least if they hope to fight before restrictions are eased.

In this episode of The Ak & Barak Show, courtesy of DAZN, hosts Akin Reyes and Barak Bess speak with Terence Crawford on this topic.

Here’s what Crawford and the hosts had to say.

The Ak & Barak Show is available on DAZN and Sirius XM Fight Nation, Channel 156.

[jwplayer tBJ7iuXP]