In this conversation with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, welterweight champion Terence Crawford talk about his November 20th title defense against Shawn Porter, why he no longer considers them friends, and why he believes there are a lot of other big fights out there for him aside from Errol Spence. Check out what Crawford had to say below.
On what kind of fight he’s expecting from Porter
“I’m expecting whatever that Shawn brings to the table, ‘cause Shawn, he can actually box. A lot of people don’t believe Shawn can box but I’ve been knowing Shawn for some time now and a lot of people maybe expecting him to just come in there and bully me — maybe he would try that, maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’ll just try to switch it up and outbox me and throw me off. But we gonna be prepared for whatever Shawn comes in the ring come fight night.
“I just think he’ll mix it up in there. You know, Shawn is a smart fighter. He’s not no newcomer, he’s been around the block a few times and he’s got a lot of experience, and I just feel like he’s going to utilize that experience to bang when he needs to, box when he needs to, brawl when he needs to, and so forth.”
On if he has a preference to approaching Porter in a southpaw or orthodox stance
“I just go with the flow. Shawn, he switch here and there as well so that’s the beauty of being a professional, you can adapt to any style that my opponent bring to the table at any given moment.”
On if his friendship with Porter and whether or not this fight could affect that
“Ain’t no talking. It’s already set in stone. All that friend stuff is out the window.”
On when he last spoke with Porter
“Earlier this year…it was cool. Me and Shawn always been cool, we ain’t ever had a problem one day. But, you know, once it’s confirmed that we fighting, all that other stuff goes out the window. We ain’t friends no more, in my eyes.”
On if he has to especially prepare himself for Porter’s high volume
“Not at all, ‘cause I got good condition as well. I feel like my conditioning is something that led me to be successful in my 37 fights as well. So it’s gonna be a battle of the fitness…I think it’s gonna come down to my skills, my skills and my ability to adapt and adjust.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cULtkkUtY0
On never having had the opportunity to face Pacquiao before he retired
“It’s a lot of things I can say about that fight, you know — me not being able to get that fight — but it’s history now and I don’t dwell over spilled milk so I’m looking forward to Shawn Porter, November 20th.
“I was supposed to fight (Pacquiao) in 2015, before him and Tim Bradley fought. So it is what it is. It’s a missed opportunity but other opportunities gonna surface.”
On if he missing out on Pacquiao makes him believe he can’t miss out on a Spence fight
“I’m not worried about Errol, at all. Like I said, I got other opportunities out there that doesn’t involve Errol so not even focused on him…There’s a lot of huge fights out there, this is a huge fight. Keith Thurman is a huge fight…I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing, worry about the fights that’s in front of me and so forth.”
