Errol Spence Jr. feels that Shawn Porter was pulled out too soon by his father Kenny Porter after he was dropped twice in round ten by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence Jr. thinks Kenny shouldn’t be paid for his corner work due to him stopping the fight in what he feels was prematurely after the second knockdown in the 10th.
According to Spence, Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs) could have won the fight if not for Kenny stopping the contest. What was interesting was that Porter didn’t protest his dad stopping the fight, which suggests that he was in favor of his division.
Normally, fighters get upset if their corner stops the fight and they feel they still have a chance to win. In Porter’s case, he didn’t look upset at all. Indeed, he looked relieved.
“I thought his daddy stopped it too early. He’s a warrior, let him fight. He wore that Marvin Hagler s***, let him fight,” said Errol Spence Jr. in reacting to Porter’s dad, Kenny, pulling him out prematurely in the 10th.
What we don’t know is if Porter told his dad before the fight that he planned on retiring after the bout. If Kenny was aware of Porter’s retirement plans, then him stopping the fight wasn’t a big shock.
Given that Porter was retiring, it’s not important that he was pulled out early by his dad.
Spence says his surgically repaired eye has healed, and he’ll be fighting next March.
“I don’t know about that. That’s beyond my ability,” said Bob Arum to iFL TV on whether a fight between Crawford and Spence is possible. “Yeah, Spence would be a good fight [for Crawford] or Josh Taylor.
“Josh Taylor in the UK would be an absolute smash. Why not?” said Arum when asked if he would bring the Crawford vs. Taylor fight to the UK.
“Crawford doesn’t care. If there’s a huge amount of money to go over to the UK to fight Taylor, why wouldn’t he take it?” said Arum.
The Top Rank promoter Bob Arum wants to match Crawford against Josh Taylor next or possibly Spence if he’s willing to take the fight.
“If Terence Crawford is truthful within himself, he knows that Shawn Porter rocked him a couple of times, but that is to be expected. When you’re fighting the best guys, they’re not going to be easy fights,” said Dan Rafael to Boxing Social.
“There’s no doubt that Shawn Porter hurt Terence Crawford a few times in that fight. It’s just boxing.
“If you listen to Kenny Porter and his post-fight comments, that’s his son and he gave him every opportunity. When you see him [Porter] get dropped two times and he talks about the preparation wasn’t the best. Who are we to question the father stopping that fight.
“This was a time where he did the right thing and Shawn was okay with it. I’m sure he’s upset, but he totally understands that his father did it out of no other reason that he loves him,” said Rafael.
