TERENCE CRAWFORD finished his high level clash with Shawn Porter inside 10 rounds at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Crawford clipped Porter with a southpaw left to drop him onto the seat of his shorts in the 10th. A strong fighter, Porter still came on but Crawford caught him on the end of hard right hook and put him down again with the follow-up combination. Shawn’s father and trainer Kenny Porter pulled him out of the fight at 1-21 leaving Crawford to celebrate his most significant welterweight victory to date.
“Once I get them on the ground, I’m coming back for the kill,” Crawford said.
Porter had been in with a special fighter. “He’s different, it’s like you can’t really pick up everything that it is that he does, it’s just that he does everything more than exceptionally well,” Porter said afterwards. “Fighting Errol Spence, going 12 rounds, was not as tough as fighting Terence Crawford.”
Porter has decided to retire from boxing. He has fought a who’s who of the welterweight division. “I’m prepared to retire. I was prepared to announce my retirement tonight, win, lose or draw,” he said. “I’m announcing my retirement right now.
“I’ve given this sport a great deal, from the training to the competition and then more training.
“After you’ve fought everybody at the top, what more do you do?”
Terence Crawford will move on with his career and expects to leave long-term promoter Top Rank. “Bob [Arum] couldn’t secure me the Spence fight when I was with him, so how are you going to secure me the Spence fight when I’m not with him? I’m moving forward with my career right now and I wish everybody the best,” Crawford said. “I’ve been the number one guy in the division since I came here, three-weight world champion, undisputed world champion, come into the welterweight division and my first fight win the title. Things that I’ve been doing my career don’t compare to Spence.”