LAS VEGAS – It’ a fight between friends. It’s a fight for legacy. It’s a fight for all seasons. And all the right reasons.
Finally, there will be a step toward some real resolution at the top of the welterweight division between fighters represented by rival promotional entities.
The fight between Terence Crawford, of Top Rank, and Shawn Porter, of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), was a done deal a few weeks ago. The marketing began Saturday with a formal news conference for the November 20 fight (pay-per-view, ESPN+) at Mandalay Bay.
“It’s my biggest fight, no doubt,’’ said Crawford, a former lightweight and junior-welterweight champion who has a chance to reassert his pound-for-pound claim on a big stage.
For Porter, it’s a chance to define how he will be remembered. A victory over Crawford, he said, will put him closer to the fame be believes Crawford already has.
“I think I’m on the brink of being in the Hall of Fame,’’ Porter said. “I think he’s done enough already to be in. My legacy depends on me beating Terence Crawford.’’
The news conference at the MGM Grand was a preliminary to a long day of boxing in Vegas. The newser ended just a few hours before the Fox/ESPN pay-per-view card featuring Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena began.
