On Wednesday, the WBO sent out an order for welterweight titlist Terence Crawford to face Shawn Porter, opening a very good chance for Top Rank’s Crawford to finally get a big fight against one of the top Premier Boxing Champions welterweight contenders.
“I’ve been begging for a real challenge for years. All the so-called elite welterweights have shown no interest in fighting me. Now one of them is finally being forced to. I’ll show once again why I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Be ready.”
The attitude displayed here by Crawford (37-0, 28 KO) is certainly no guarantee, but it gives the indication that he’s expecting the fight with Porter (31-3-1, 17 KO) to happen. And as some of us have speculated, the WBO have been on good terms, let’s say, with Top Rank, and if Top Rank and Team Crawford didn’t want this order, it seems unlikely it would have come through. Porter wasn’t the mandatory challenger sitting around waiting for a shot or anything.
It also seems to indicate that Crawford won’t be facing Jose Zepeda in October. Zepeda’s a good fighter, but that had nobody excited, and the Porter fight is bigger, better, tougher, and more marketable. Win-win — if it happens.