Shawn Porter has warned against writing off Errol Spence Jr 28-1 (22) following his loss to Terence Crawford 40-0 (31).
Spence lost his WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight titles to WBO champion Crawford when the 35-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska dropped him three times and stopped him in the ninth round in their all-southpaw battle at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 29.
Spence, 33, from Desoto, Texas has activated his rematch clause with Crawford, a bout that is expected to take place at the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds.
Boxing Twitter was quick to criticise Spence for failing to make a dent in Crawford the first time around in what was ultimately a one-sided fight.
But ex-boxer turned pundit Porter says some critics are being too harsh on Spence.
“We knew this was a 50-50 fight, but obviously, it didn’t show as much. One thing we did know is that even from a standpoint from preparation, it’s 50-50,” Porter said to K.O. Artist Sports.
“Who trains the best, who game plans the best and who has the best corner. Ultimately, I think it came down to Terence seeing what he saw. Terence showed that he saw something and he was able to connect the dots and solve the puzzle.
“That was a hell of a puzzle. Errol Spence has always been a hell of a puzzle to get with. I hate that people are saying that Errol isn’t what we thought he was. He is. That guy [Crawford] was just greater that night.”
Spence has been in the wars out of the ring in recent years, suffering injuries from a high-speed car crash when he was ejected from the vehicle and undergoing eye surgery for a detached retina.
The career welterweight has long looked like he has outgrown the 147-pound welterweight division too.
Porter believes Spence is entitled to a second crack at Crawford.
“If you remove emotion, you do see that was his first loss. Yes, it was a loss. The physicians need to make the decision whether he’s healthy enough to continue,” Porter said.
“Don’t completely write him off because you’ve seen him in a space that you did not expect to see him in. You saw him in a space that you never saw him in before.
“A lot of people don’t want to see the [Crawford vs. Spence] rematch. I’m an advocate for rematches. There were maybe two fighters as an amateur that beat me, like consecutively. But I was one of those guys if you beat me once, you couldn’t beat me twice.
“I saw it, I felt it, I tasted it. I made my mental adjustments. I came back and I was somebody different and that’s what I truly expect from Errol Spence. So with that being said, I’m an advocate for a rematch.”
