โGLASGOW, itโs depressing, the sun donโt shine, it rains.โ Terence Crawford may not have entirely enjoyed his time in Scotland, when he beat Ricky Burns to first introduce himself to the world stage in 2014. But the welterweight star wouldnโt be averse to returning to fight Josh Taylor.
Taylor has followed in Crawfordโs footsteps by winning the four major belts at super-lightweight and is, in the long run, contemplating a move up to 147lbs himself. โThatโs a money fight right there,โ Crawford said. โHeโs a good fighter. Thatโs a good fight down the line, could potentially be a great pay-per-view.โ
But first Crawford has the most significant contest of his career at welterweight to deal with. On November 20 he boxes Shawn Porter at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. In the USA ESPN+ will televise it as a pay-per-view but in the UK it will be screened on Sky Sports.
With Errol Spence currently injured and Manny Pacquiao retired, Crawford-Porter might just be the best fight that can be made in the welterweight division. โItโs definitely one of them. But youโve still got fighters out there like Keith Thurman and [Yordenis] Ugas, and these younger fighters thatโs coming up in the division thatโs making their way into stardom. But I donโt believe Porter is the only welterweight out there that I can showcase my talent at a high level with. I believe Keith Thurman is a bigger fight, in my eyes. But Keith Thurman is doing whatever heโs doing,โ Crawford says. โI feel like Keith Thurman, he was considered the number one fighter in the division, whether anybody likes it or not, Keith Thurman was the number one guy in the division. Pacquiao beat him, nobody else beat him.โ
โMy two fights was Pacquiao and Spence. They were the two fights that I was looking for. I wasnโt looking for any other fights. To be honest I didnโt care about the title, I just wanted them two fighters,โ he continued. โIt wasnโt in my control. I canโt regret it.
โAm I disappointed? Yes, definitely. But I canโt regret not getting a fight that I couldnโt possibly get because it wasnโt in my control.โ
This upcoming fight is significant though in pitting Porter, from the Premier Boxing Champions stable, against Top Rank promoted Crawford. Itโs been a frustrating wait for Crawford, the WBO belt-holder, trying to get one of these cross-promotional contests made. He thinks PBC fighters should have pushed for something like this sooner. โItโs the fightersโ decision. If they want to fight somebody then they go make it happen,โ he lamented. โIt wasnโt Terence Crawford holding up the fights because Iโve been calling for it.
โIโve been saying this for so long, they [promoters] work for us. They work for us. If you tell them, listen Iโm not fighting until I fight this guy, this is the guy I want to fight and you put your foot down, they may try to tell you, โWell we can get more money, we can do this, we can go this way and then we can do this, thereโs no reason.โ But thatโs why youโve got advisors, thatโs why youโve got managers and thatโs why youโve got people to navigate your career because youโre a fighter. Fighters will fight anybody because this is what weโre accustomed to do, this is what weโve been doing our whole life is fighting. So I donโt believe any fighter is scared of the next fighter, I believe itโs just a business move.
โEver since I came in the division, Iโve been calling out these top welterweights.โ
Porter is a great fight for Crawford. Shawn has boxed a whoโs who in the division. He might have lost to Errol Spence and Keith Thurman but heโs beaten Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Danny Garcia and Yordenis Ugas, the recent conqueror of Manny Pacquiao.
โIโve just always been determined to show the world that Iโm better than the next person standing next to me,โ Crawford said. โTheyโve got to change up their whole gameplan, their approach, how theyโre going to approach Terence Crawford. You canโt approach me like you approach everybody else, because Iโm a sharp puncher, Iโm a hard puncher and Iโm a crisp puncher and Iโm a great counter-puncher. Youโve got to be aware of all those traits when getting reckless and doing things that can leave you in a bad position.
โWe get in there, Iโm going to put on a show and Iโm not going to slack in training just because everybody says, โOh youโre going to beat this guy.โโ
Itโs certainly a respectable fight and Crawford might even get some respect for it, not that Crawford himself is expecting to receive much kudos. โIt depends on the fashion that I beat him in. Thereโs writers and thereโs people out there that give me credit but thereโs always people that [say,] โOh he was supposed to beat Porterโ or โPorterโs the gatekeeper. Heโs supposed to do this, heโs supposed to do that. We want to see him against Errol Spence we want to see him against 154lbs champions.โ So thereโs always going to be that and Iโm just preparing myself for when that comes,โ he said.
But he adds, โAt the end of the day, my skills are going to be speak for themselves.โ