Shawn Porter discusses dad unexpectedly stopping Crawford fight!
Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17KOs) is one of boxing’s most respected fighters in his era. He’s fought a gauntlet of elite welterweights that includes Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Errol Spence. He lost to all three but never by stoppage. Everyone figured that trend would continue as he stepped in the ring with WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29KOs).
After waging battle for nine close rounds, something extremely unexpected happened in the tenth round. No it wasn’t the fact that Porter was knocked down twice. It was the fact that his trainer and father, Kenny Porter, stepped in and threw the towel in, stopping the fight. Although some will argue the outcome was inevitable, that doesn’t change the fact that Showtime was robbed of potentially pulling a rabbit out of his own hat and springing the upset. While he did touch the canvas twice, he never appeared seriously hurt. Of course this is boxing and all it takes is one punch to change things.
KEEP YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH
Shawn Porter, who was clearly upset with his fathers decision to stop the fight, spoke to ESPN immediately after the fight and gave his thoughts on what all inspired.
“No, he’s doing what he knows he needs to do. I didn’t expect that, we’ve never had a conversation about that. We just kind of always had an unspoken understanding that if he sees what he needs to see, he’s going to do what he did. I didn’t expect it.
“Yes, the punches he was catching me with was too clean. That’s what I think my dad saw. I saw it, I felt it and you know, I just think my timing was little off. Great fighter over there, wouldn’t allow me to catch my rhythm. That was my game plan going in; not to allow him to catch his. He’s a dynamite dude inside and out of the ring. Congratulations.”
What turned out to be a very good fight was ultimately soured by the head-scratching decision made by Kenny Porter to stop it. For the many entertaining battles Porter has given to boxing, I think he deserved to go out on his shield. Nonetheless, props to Terence Crawford for becoming the first man to stop Shawn Porter.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
