A welterweight contest of epic proportions takes place at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, as Terence Crawford puts his WBO welterweight title, and lofty pound-for-pound ranking on the line against Shawn Porter in the main event.
Sky Sports televise Crawford vs Porter in the UK, while ESPN broadcast on pay-per-view in the USA.
Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) is fast cementing an impressive legacy, having reigned as WBO lightweight champion in way back in 2014. A move up to ten stone saw the Nebraska native pick up every belt available, defeating Thomas Dulorme for the vacant WBO strap in April 2015, before claiming the WBC belt against Viktor Postol in July 2016.
The WBA ‘Super’ and IBF titles completed the collection in August 2017, when he spectacularly knocked out Julius Indongo in three.
June 2018 saw ‘Bud’ become a three-weight ruler with a masterful ninth round stoppage of Jeff Horn, and he has since defended four times, all by knockout.
The 34-year-old’s last victory came back in November 2020, when Kell Brook was outgunned in a fourth round success.
Now comes the challenge of the often underappreciated Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs). The Ohio-born, Las Vegas resident is a two-time world champion at ten stone seven, having won the IBF crown in 2014, before shipping the belt to Kell Brook in his first defence.
After defeat to Keith Thurman in 2016, ‘Showtime’ won four straight, culminating in a WBC title win, defeating Yordenis Ugas via split decision to take the vacant belt.
Again, Porter dropped in his first defence, failing to unify in a split defeat to Errol Spence Jr in September 2019.
The 34-year-old was last seen in August last year, taking every round of twelve to win the vacant WBC Silver title against Sebastian Formella.
Crawford has been chasing a fight with WBC and IBF king Spence, but instead has to settle for a stiff test in the form of the former champion.
Prediction: This could be a close, competitive fight, with Porter often underestimated for his abilities in the ring. I think after a close start, Crawford can pull away in the middle rounds to record a win on the scorecards.
Undercard
Brazilian prospect Esquiva Falcao (28-0, 20 KOs) is coming off a fourth round retirement win over former world title challenger Artur Akavov, and the middleweight takes on Canada’s Patrice Volny in a battle of unbeatens.
Volny (16-0, 10 KOs) fights outside of Canada for the first time, and may find the South American too tough of a nut to crack.
Prediction: Falcao should win inside schedule.
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Kazakh talent Zhanibek Alimkhanuly continues his education, and he takes on battle-hardened veteran, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (38-5, 21 KOs) at middleweight.
Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6 KOs) forced former world title challenger Rob Brant to retire after eight rounds in his last fight, and is making gradual steps up in class.
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N’Dam, 37, is a former WBA champion, but has many miles on the clock, losing three of his last five contests.
Prediction: Alimkhanuly can take this one on points.
Former world champion Isaac Dogboe (22-2, 15 KOs) continues his quest to become king once again, and the Ghanaian-born, Brit meets Puerto Rican Christopher Diaz (26-3, 16 KOs), who lost in the final round in a bid for the WBO featherweight title against Emanuel Navarrete last time out, the same Navarrete that took Dogboe’s WBO super bantamweight belt in 2018.
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Prediction: Dogboe can come through on points.
Raymond Muratalla (12-0, 10 KOs) makes an appearance, and the Californian lightweight may need the distance to see off Argentina’s Elias Damian Araujo (21-3, 8 KOs).
Another California lightweight in action is Carlos Balderas (10-1, 9 KOs) and he takes on Ecuador’s Julio Cortez (15-3, 11 KOs) in what should be a points win for Balderas.
