WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford says he will prove to be a level above Shawn Porter when they meet in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Crawford, who was undisputed champion at super-lightweight, aims to make his fifth successful WBO welterweight title defence against two-time world champion Shawn Porter.
“I respect everything that Shawn does,” Crawford said at yesterday’s presser.
“Shawn is athletic, he can box, he can bang, he can move around in the ring, he can cut corners and take angles. I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t respect anything that he does. I’m just going to say that I do a lot of things better than Shawn. I’m going to show him come Saturday.
“Once we signed that contract, the switch was already flipped and I can’t wait to go out there Saturday to display my talent and look good doing it. Until then, right now I’m just chilling, playing Call of Duty in the room by myself all day. I’ve been in the room all day isolating.”
Porter, a two-time welterweight champion, described the champion as “solid” and hinted that Crawford may have a problem with his temperament.
“Terence, you know better than I do that you’ve matured. I feel like people see your personality and your character right now more than they’ve ever seen, but I feel like I’m still correct in saying that when the wrong Tweet or Instagram post goes up, you can get upset.
“There are people you can get to, and there are people that you can’t get to. I’m one of those people that you can’t get to, and I got a feeling that you can get to him quicker on the microphone than you can in the ring. In the ring, he is solid, but there may be something that is posted or said that might have an affect on him the fight.
“I’m relaxing, I’m drinking water and just biding my time. I am a showtime fighter, and I can’t wait for showtime on ESPN+ PPV.”
Main image: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images