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By: Sean Crose
“I live in disrupting your living,” Shawn Porter told the media on a Wednesday conference call. “I live in figuring out what makes you uncomfortable.” True enough, even the 31-3-1 Porter’s losses have been close. It’s doubtful any of the fighters who bested him, be it Errol Spence, or Keith Thurman, or Kell Brook, stepped out of the ring thinking the win was easy. Porter certainly feels like undefeated 37-0 WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford will fall victim to his aggressive, frustrating style when they meet for their pay per view main event on November 20th. “He’s an emotional fighter,” Porter said of his lauded opponent. “He’s going to get uncomfortable.”
There’s little doubt that Porter-Crawford will be a treat for fight fans. “One of the top top fights that can be presented to the public,” said promoter Bob Arum, who compared the match to the battles of the legendary welterweight era of Leonard and Hearns. “This is a terrific, terrific, competitive fight.” Indeed, Porter himself knows he’s going to share the ring with a top level practitioner of the boxing game. “I’m not looking at a mirror image of myself,” he said, “but at the same time I think I’m looking at the next best thing out there.”
Porter knows going in that Crawford will be favored. Yet he also feels that perceptions are faulty in this case. “This is a test for Terence Crawford,” Porter said in imitation of those who he feels underestimate him. “We’re going to see what Terence really has.” Although he’s not easily offended, Porter is expecting disprove that particular narrative. “This is more than a test for Terence Crawford,” he said. “His livelihood is on the line. Everything he’s about is on the line.” As far as Porter is concerned, those who doubt him are going to be disappointed with what they see from Crawford on the 20th.
“They’re not going to get what they’re used to seeing out of Terence Crawford,” he said. “I am different.” That’s a point that Porter feels his former foes learned in the ring. “They hadn’t seen anything like me before,” Porter claimed, “and they never will.” While Crawford has certainly faced his share of competition, Porter makes it clear that he himself is something new for the Omaha native. “I’m one of a kind,” he says. “I am rare and when you’re rare…it’s hard to adjust to on fight night.”
