Shawn Porter's five-fight form guide ahead of his fight against Terence Crawford
- Ryan Allan
- 16 November 2021
Porter is set to take on unbeaten WBO champion Crawford at the Michelob Ultra Arena on November 20.
Terence Crawford is out to silence the doubters when he takes on former champ Shawn Porter on November 20.
Crawford, who has won titles at three different weight classes, is putting his WBO belt on the line against Porter with a unification fight against Errol Spence Jr. the carrot.
Porter will be no pushover as a split-decision loss to Spence Jr. in 2019 demonstrated.
Here, Planet Sport looks back on Porter's last five bouts, including that explosive Staples Center showdown.
Porter vs Sebastian Formella (August 22, 2020)
Looking to rebound from a split-decision loss to Errol Spence Jr., Porter would spend nearly a full year out of the ring before returning to take on the unbeaten German, Sebastian Formella (22-0) at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
At 32 years of age and having fought outside of his native Germany just once (in Sweden), Formella was given little chance of causing an upset despite being ranked eight by the IBF and 14 by the WBC sanctioning bodies.
With the WBC Silver welterweight title on the line, Porter was keen to put on a strong performance following his brave but ultimately fruitless performance against Spence Jr. And he did just that with a dominant and one-sided victory, winning every round on all three judges' scorecards.
As brave as they come, Formella took a sustained beating, but despite Porter's dominance fight, the German could take plenty of pride in withstanding the sustained attacks of 'Showtime', with the Illinois man using his relentless come-forward style to brawl his way to a comfortable victory.
Porter vs Errol Spence Jr. (September 28, 2019)
Porter faced the biggest fight of his career as he squared off with the unbeaten sensation Errol Spence Jr. at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
One of the sport's biggest talents, Spence Jr., now regarded as a top-ten pound for pound fighter, would put his IBF welterweight title on the line with Porter's WBC crown also up-for-grabs in a huge unification showdown.
Spence Jr., who had won his title with a fine away-day win in the UK against Kell Brook, was a strong favourite coming into the bout. With an unbeaten 25-0 record that included 21 knockout victories as well as wins over Mikey Garcia, Lamont Peterson and Chris Algieri, it was easy to see why.
In what would prove to be a fight of the year candidate, both fighters would bring their A-game. Porter, dogged and aggressive as ever, was relentless from the first bell to last. While not as skilled or crafty as Spence Jr., Porter's come-forward style resulted in a brilliant back and forth contest with both men unwilling to lay down their titles.
Ultimately, Spence Jr. would claim the bragging rights and the belts - earning a well-deserved but narrow split decision victory with judges Rey Danseco and Steve Weisfeld scoring the fight 116-111 and 116-111 in his favour. Third judge Larry Hazard Jr. scored the bout 115-112 for Porter. However, despite the judges uncertainty, Spence Jr. had earned a hard-fought but deserved victory.
Porter vs Yordenis Ugas (March 9, 2019)
Making the first defence of his WBC welterweight title, Porter faced the awkward Cuban Yordenis Ugas at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
With money-spinning unification fights against both Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. in his sights, Porter instead made a mandatory defence against the unheralded Ugas, who boasted a 23-3 fight record across his nine-year career. Without a big name on his record, Ugas had earned his shot at the title by claiming a unanimous decision win over the largely unknown Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo.
While fights with fellow American champions Crawford and Spence Jr. were sure to guarantee plenty of green for Showtime Shawn and his team a bout with Ugas seemed to represent a more safety-first approach with the 32-year-old Cuban perceived as a lighter touch in an admittedly stacked welterweight division.
However, the skilled and rangy Ugas would present a sizable challenge inside the ring and, despite his underdog status, would take Porter the distance in a keen and competitive bout, with the champion perhaps fortunate to earn a split decision victory.
Ugas, who boxed intelligently and skillfully, had seemingly been deprived of his big moment. But as fate would have it, the Cuban would leave an indelible mark on the sport, ending the career of the legendary Manny Pacquiao in 2021.
Porter vs Danny Garcia (September 8, 2018)
In his 11-year career, Garcia, the one-time conqueror of Britain's Amir Khan, had suffered just one split decision loss to Keith Thurman. He entered this bout with an exemplary 34-1 winning record, including victories over former world champions Lamont Peterson, Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah.
Porter, on the back of just two losses, including one at the hands of Thurman, entered the bout at the Barclays Center in New York as a narrow favourite. However, most in the industry viewed this very much as a pick-em affair with both carrying serious championship credentials.
In what proved to be a brilliant back-and-forth contest, Porter would claim a narrow but unanimous decision victory and, with it, perhaps the finest signature victory of his career to date.
Porter vs Adrían Granados (November 4, 2017)
Porter took on fellow American Adrian Granados for the vacant WBC Silver welterweight title at the Barclays Center in New York.
Having lost his bid for a second world title at the hands of Keith Thurman in the summer of 2016, Porter had rebounded with a TKO victory over veteran Andre Berto in the spring of 2017 and now faced off with an opponent who had perhaps been unlucky to lose a split decision to Adrien Broner in his previous bout.
Still, with five losses and two draws in a career of just 25 fights, Granados, who recently went the distance with UK prospect Conor Benn, was not expected to provide an overly stiff challenge to the twice beaten Porter who knew that a win in this bout would likely lead to a third world title bid in 2018.
Yet, in an at times scrappy and somewhat bad-blooded contest, Granados would give Porter a decent night's work with the Cleveland-born fighter perhaps guilty of some roughhouse tactics. However, with Granados equally guilty of too much showboating and posturing, it was a contest that would not live long in the memory.
Still, Granados would take the former IBF champion the full 12 rounds before losing a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 117-111 in favour of the always-popular Showtime Shawn.
