The king made his mark on the victory that defined his career. Terence “Bud” Crawford knocks out “Showtime” Shawn Porter in the 10th round to retain his WBO welterweight world title in front of a sold-out crowd of 11,568 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Crawford (38-0.29 KOs) made his fifth title defense he won in June 2018 and presented with the toughest test of his illustrious career. Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs), who has fought every single major weight class of this era, has made things uncomfortable on the inside.
“(I found him in) Round 1,” Crawford said. “I realized that I was capable and he had to take the chance, and he did what he usually does. He tried to hit and push me back, but I used my angles and I pushed him back too. Shawn Porter is a slick boxer. He’s doing some of the work in there and makes me think.
“I love him. Shawn Porter is a real good friend of mine. I don’t really want to fight him. We always said we would fight when the time was right and I guess the timing. the right point for this fight to happen. I tried to fight other champions in the tournament, and that didn’t happen, so I was looking forward to the next best thing.”
Porter led 48-47 on all three points cards after five innings, but Crawford was in control in the second half of the fight. After the dominant ninth round, Crawford scored a double kill, and Porter and father’s coach, Kenny Porter, stopped the fight.
My timing was skewed and he wouldn’t let me catch my rhythm,” Porter said. “He’s the best of all the guys I’ve been in the ring.”
During the post-match press conference, Porter announced his retirement. Crawford’s future, meanwhile, remains to be seen.
Falcao Edges Volny
Middleweight rivals Esquiva Falcao (29-0, 20 KOs) and Patrice Volny (16-1, 10 KOs) advanced into a fight from a distance until a brutal headbutt unleashed a slash to the eye. Falcao’s left in the sixth inning. The fight went to the scorecards, and Falcao won by technical decision (58-56 Volny, 58-56 Falcao and 58-57 Falcao) in an IBF title knockout.
Falcao, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Brazil, is now among the winners of a belt unification match in December between WBA champion Ryota Murata and IBF champion Gennadiy Golovkin.
Janibek Rolls Past N’Dam
Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (11-0.7 KOs) was a problem. The world-ranked middleweight boxer from Kazakhstan overcame former two-time champion Hassan N’Dam (38-6, 21 KOs) in the round of 16 to retain the WBO Global and WBC Continental Americas belts.
Alimkhanuly dropped N’Dam in the third inning and kept moving forward. N’Dam countered quickly, but Alimkhanuly was undaunted. Whenever N’Dam landed a punch, Alimkhanuly shook his head and continued the attack. At the end of the 1/8 round, a combination of many punches froze N’Dam in the green corner, causing referee Kenny Bayless to end the carnage.
Alimkhanuly said, “I am ready for the next world title. ‘Qazaq Style’ is about to take over the middleweight division. Which champion, doesn’t matter.
“I have to credit the merits of N’Dam, a tough former champion who took a lot of punishment.”
In another action:
Lightweight phenom Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (13-0, 11 KOs) became the first to knock out Elias Araujo (21-4, 8 KOs), ending the fifth set of a scheduled eight-round match. Araujo was not seriously injured at the time of the knockout, but referee Allen Huggins halted the match due to accumulating penalties.
Former kids featherweight world champion Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe” (23-2, 15 KOs) kept his hopes of a featherweight title shot dead, edging out two-time title challenger Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz (26-4, 16 KOs) by 10-round Majority Decision (95-95, 96-94 and 97-93). Dogboe has now won three teamfights in a row since losing in a row to Emanuel Navarrete.
Adam “BluNose” Lopez (15-3, 6 KOs) is just getting started. After dominating the first two rounds against Adan Ochoa (12-2, 5 KOs), the fight was decided indecisively due to a headbutt that happened to open a cut above Ochoa’s right eye. . Ochoa took damage in the opening round and was unable to continue.
“I have scored some good shots and am getting him destroyed,” said Lopez. He is looking for a way out.
“It is frustrating. I want to return to the ring as soon as possible. I’m still ready to go up against anyone in the featherweight division.”
Lightweight prospect “King” Karlos Balderas (11-1, 10 KOs) scored a second consecutive stoppage-time win, defeating Ecuadorian veteran Julio Cortez (15-4, 11 KOs) en route to TKO in round four. Cortez has never been defeated in the game.
Recent US Olympic athlete Tiger Johnson made his professional debut when he stopped Antonius Grable (3-2-1, 3 KOs) in the fourth round of a welterweight title match. Johnson suffered the first cut of his career before knocking out Grable with his right hand in the fourth round. Referee Allen Huggins stopped the game after a follow-up situation pinned Grable to the rope.
Johnson said, “Here I come. The cut wasn’t an issue for me, and I did my thing against a solid opponent on my professional debut. It’s been an honor to debut on a major pay-per-view card in Las Vegas, and I can’t wait for my second pro game.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – November 20: Victory by Bob Arum (L) and Terence Crawford (R) as he defeats Shawn Porter to claim the WBO weightlifting title at Michelob ULTRA Arena on November 20, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mikey Williams / Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
