By Allan Fox: UK boxing fans will be able to watch Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter on Sky Sports on non-PPV when the two meet next month on November 20th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
American fans might be green with envy with their UK counterparts with them not having to fork out a bunch of money to watch WBO welterweight champion Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) defend his title against mandatory Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs).
It’s unknown if British fans will be all that enthralled at watching Crawford and Porter mix it up because neither of them is from the UK. It would interest British fans if Conor Benn took on Crawford for his WBO welterweight title.
It’s a good fight, but it’s not the one that American fans wanted to see involving Crawford, They’ve been waiting years for Crawford to fight Errol Spence Jr, and Porter is not popular enough to appease the U.S fans that have been waiting on the big Crawford-Spence fight for the last three years.
It’s a great deal for British fans to watch the Crawford – Porter fight on regular Sky Sports because, in the U.S, fans will need to purchase it on pay-per-view in addition to subscribing to ESPN+, which is $7 per month.
That’s not a lot of money, but if you want to watch the Crawford vs. Porter fight, you’re probably not going to be happy with having to subscribe to ESPN+ in addition to paying to see it on PPV.
“This fight will bring out the best in me and showcase parts of my game that the world hasn’t seen yet,’ said Crawford.
“I’ve been calling out the top welterweights since I moved up to 147 in 2018, and I’m excited that Shawn stepped up,” Crawford said.
This is a fight that will show fans whether Crawford is as good as his pound-for-pound billing. For years, some ultra-hardcore boxing fans have raved about Crawford, saying he’s the most technical fighter in the sport.
No matter what division Crawford has fought in, there are a handful of fans that believe he’s the best.
Unfortunately, we’ve never seen Crawford adequately tested against A-level opposition to determine whether he’s as good as some fans believe him to be. This fight with Porter will help identify whether Crawford has the goods to be rated #1 at 147 and in the pound-for-pound lists.
Crawford has won world titles in three divisions, but he’s never fought significant opposition in winning those titles. He wouldn’t be questioned if he stuck around in those weight classes to fight the elite fighters, but he’s not been tested the way he needed to be.
“On November 20, I will silence my doubters and prove that I am the best welterweight in the world,” said Crawford.
Beating Porter, 33, won’t prove to the doubters that Crawford is the #1 welterweight in the division because he would still need to beat Errol Spence Jr, Jaron Ennis, and Vergil Ortiz to call himself the #1 guy.