Is Terence Crawford ducking Shawn Porter?
At this point, enough is enough with WBO World Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (37-0, 28 KO’s). When he was enrolled in the super lightweight division, Crawford showed out and established his clear dominance. His tricky, switch-hitting style, rapid ability to mentally analyze his opponents and killer instinct made him a fun and easy watch.
During his tenure at 140, Bud collected the scalps of Thomas Dulorme, Henry Lundy, John Molina Jr, Felix Diaz, Julius Indongo and Victor Postol. After stopping the majority of them, Crawford was crowned the undisputed king of the division. So when the Nebraskan elevated to welterweight, boxing fans mouths began to water like sugar addicts in an aromatic bakery. The 147-pound landscape was far lusher with competition than was the super lightweight division. Sadly, to this day, Crawford has yet to fight a welterweight that the boxing public can really get excited about.
OPPORTUNITY LOUDLY KNOCKING
Let Terence Crawford tell it, no one wants to fight him and that is why nothing is happening. Yet, that is simply not true. Former welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter (31-3-1, 17 KO’s) has been extremely vocal about wanting a fight with Crawford. Both admit to sharing a great friendship but Showtime said he would happily put it to the side for that showdown. Not only is Porter completely willing and wanting to rumble, it would make for a great action-fight.
Porter just recently reiterated his interest in the match-up by speaking on it directly via his Twitter account. The Ohio native let it be known he would be ready for a scuffle in May. Along with posting the note, he linked it to Crawford and his Top Rank promoters. Bud was fairly quick in responding to the open call out. Unfortunately, he gave no indication that he was interested or would take the bout
CRYING WOLF DOES NOT WORK
The trouble with this nonchalance is the fact that he does not have any better opponents at the moment. He and Bob Arum have said on different occasions that they were close to penning a fight with Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KO’s). Yet, barring a surprise like that, there are no real viable options for Crawford that would please the fans. Top Rank has long been known for their love of staging in-house fights. The trouble is their welterweight stable is thinner than an anorexic chickens leg. So if Bud is not fighting Porter, then who?
The prizefight that everyone initially, and still craves, is Crawford versus WBC and IBF World Welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr (27-0, 21 KO’s). Politics and egos have muddied that water since the day Bud stepped in the division. For a good while, the WBO champ did appear to be the victim of circumstance. Yet, the sun has set on that day. Crawford has a meaningful pay-per-view worthy fight staring him in the face. If he chooses to sidestep this opportunity, and does not replace it with something equal or of higher value, Crawford is starting to look like a duck. Let’s just see how it plays out, but at the moment, it is not looking good!
By: Bakari Simpson
