Terence Crawford smiled mischievously upon responding to Shawn Porter’s comments about Crawford’s fight against Jose Benavidez Jr.
Two days before Crawford addressed the media during a virtual press conference Friday, Porter noted that a then-unbeaten Benavidez gave Crawford the most difficult fight of the undefeated three-division champion’s career. Crawford dropped and stopped Benavidez during the 12th round of their WBO welterweight title fight in October 2018, but the 6-feet Benavidez troubled Crawford at times with his size, length and skill at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford’s hometown.
Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) didn’t declare Benavidez his toughest opponent Friday, but he acknowledged the attributes that made Benavidez a challenging opponent. The 34-year-old Crawford also indicated that Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs), his opponent Saturday night, had a tough time when he sparred against Benavidez.
“Well, like I said, Jose Benavidez is a talented fighter,” Crawford said. “You know, he was perceived to be the next superstar in boxing. You know, I take my hats off to Benavidez. You know, he did what he did, you know, fight night. He’s a very good counterpuncher. He’s tall, he’s long, he’s rangy. Let’s not say, you know, when they sparred what happened, when [Porter] sparred Jose Benavidez. So, he personally know how good Jose Benavidez is because he shared the ring with him as well, so.”
Crawford stopped short of divulging details of what happened when Porter sparred with Benavidez, but the implication that Benavidez got the better of it was obvious. It is not clear when Porter sparred versus Benavidez, but it was not in preparation for the Akron, Ohio, native’s shot at Crawford’s WBO welterweight title at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN Pay-Per-View; $69.99).
“No, no, not recently,” Crawford said. “I don’t know if they’ve sparred recently. I’m just saying, in the past they sparred. So, you know, he knows [about Benavidez].”
Benavidez (27-1-1, 18 KOs) finally returned to the ring Saturday night for the first time since Crawford defeated him three years ago. The 29-year-old Benavidez looked very rusty, was out-worked by Argentina’s Emanuel Torres (17-3-1, 5 KOs) and settled for a majority draw in a 10-round middleweight match that Showtime televised from Footprint Center in Phoenix, Benavidez’s hometown.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.