WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) and challenger ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) weighed in successfully on Friday at the weigh-in for Saturday’s main event fight on ESPN+ PPV (click here to order!) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Crawford weighed in at 146.4 lbs and Porter at 146.6 lbs. Of the two, Crawford, 34, looked more drained, and you could tell that he’d taken a lot of water weight off.
Despite the huge interest in the fight, Crawford is viewed as the clear favorite over the 33-year-old Porter, who has repeatedly come up short when facing the rung of the welterweight division during his career.
Does Porter have enough left to win?
Porter would have stood a better chance of winning this fight if this fight had taken place five years ago when he was arguably at his best. in the last two years, Porter didn’t look great against Errol Spence Jr. and Yordenis Ugas.
In 2016, Porter lost to a prime Keith Thurman, and in 2014, Kell Brook beat him. Porter is an excellent fighter, but he hasn’t shown the ability to win when he’s been up against the very best.
Yeah, Porter beat Ugas in 2019, but that was viewed as a gift decision by boxing fans. This writer had Ugas winning 9 rounds to 3 over Porter.
Other weights for Saturday:
Esquiva Falcao 158.8 vs. Patrice Volny 159.4
Zhanibek Alimkhanuly 159.8 vs. Hassan N’Dam 158.6
Raymond Muratalla 135.5 vs. Elias Araujo 137
Isaac Dogboe 125.5 vs. Christopher Diaz 125
Adam Lopez 126.4 vs. Adan Ochoa 126.5
Karlos Balderas 131.8 vs. Julio Cortez 131.4
Tiger Johnson 144.8 vs. Antonius Grable 146.8
Bradley lectures Crawford & Porter
“Now, we get to see what Crawford can do against Shawn Porter, who makes things difficult for any fighter,” said Tim Bradley to Fight Hub TV. “Shawn Porter is the grim reaper. He tests everybody’s heart.
“How badly do you want it? Crawford is finally in the ring with somebody that wants it just as badly as he does. That’s why this fight is important. That wants it just as bad if not more than he does,” said Bradley of Porter wanting the win as much as Crawford.
“What I saw up there was Porter, a guy that was comfortable because he has experience fighting the top guys. He has confidence that he’s grown from himself that he knows about himself from fighting these guys. That’s why he was so relaxed.
“Crawford, he was reserved, and a little bit too reserved for my liking. He didn’t even want to speak. By the way, that ain’t how you sell a pay-per-view. I’m being honest with you at home and all these fighters that are listening too.
“I didn’t know this stuff when I was fighting,” said Bradley about Porter and Crawford doing a poor job of creating interest in their fight by being too relaxed, too friendly, and too reserved. Nobody sat me down and aired this out. That ain’t the way you sell pay-per-views.
“You got to get people attracted to this fight. You got to get people wanting to see this fight. I understand the skills, but you make some noise, people are going to get intrigued and want to see this fight.
“How do you sell the fight? Talk your stuff, that’s what you do,” said Bradley in giving Crawford and Porter some pearls.
