To the delight of boxing fans, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford have finally signed to fight – and Shawn Porter can offer a unique insight after facing both.
Spence will bring the WBC, WBA and IBF belts to the table in Sin City against Crawford’s WBO to crown an undisputed welterweight champion and best of a generation.
To get where the are in the division, both have come through some top contenders, and Porter features on both records. In 2019, he fought Spence to a split decision loss, whilst was stopped by Crawford two fights later in what would be his final contest.
In a video shared by Champside, Porter compared the two bouts and pointed to a distinct difference
“Errol was prepared to beat me at my game, and Terence was prepared to beat me at his game. Mentally, there’s a difference. Errol likes to be commander in chief, likes to do what he wants to do. Against me, he chose to try to beat me at my own game.
Terence – ‘I’m coming in the ring, this is what I’m gonna do, stop me.'”
Who sets the pace and establishes their style will play a big part in the undisputed fight – and many fans will feel Spence testing himself by playing Crawford’s game isn’t wise.
How fans will decipher Porter’s comparison remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that he has previously sided with Crawford for the win, if only slightly.
On his podcast, he said that if he was forced to put money down it would be on ‘Bud’, but clearly holds both in high regard.
The fact that perhaps the man most-qualified to predict the fight is still struggling bodes well for fans, who are in line for a unparalleled night of fighting come July 29 in Las Vegas.