Terence Crawford KOs Shawn Porter in 10, Porter Announces Retirement
*The pound-for-pound king notched his
career-defining victory. Terence “Bud” Crawford knocked 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 Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay
Bay in Las Vegas.
Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) made the fifth defense of the title he won in June
2018 and was presented with the stiffest test of his illustrious career.
Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs), who has fought every elite welterweight of this
era, made things uncomfortable on the inside.
“(I figured him out in) Round 1,” Crawford said. “I figured that I had the
reach and he had to take chances, and he did what he normally does. He
tried to maul and push me back, but I used my angles and I pushed him back
at times as well. Shawn Porter is a slick fighter. He was doing some things
in there and made me think.
“I love him. Shawn Porter is a real good friend of mine. I didn’t really
want to fight him. We always said we would fight each other when the time
was right and I guess the time was right for this fight to happen. I tried
to fight the other champions in the division, and that didn’t happen, so I
went to the next best thing.”
Porter led 48-47 on all three scorecards after five rounds, but Crawford
took control in the second half of the fight. After a dominant ninth round,
Crawford scored a pair of knockdowns, and Porter’s trainer and father,
Kenny Porter, stopped the fight.
My timing was off and he wouldn’t allow me to get my rhythm,” Porter said.
“He’s the best out of everybody I have been in the ring with.”
At the post-fight press conference, Porter announced his retirement.
Crawford’s future, meanwhile, remains to be seen.
*Falcao Edges Volny*
Middleweights Esquiva Falcao (29-0, 20 KOs) and Patrice Volny (16-1, 10
KOs) were headed for a distance fight until a brutal headbutt opened a gash
above Falcao’s left eye in the sixth round. The fight went to the
scorecards, and Falcao prevailed by technical decision (58-56 Volny, 58-56
Falcao and 58-57 Falcao) in an IBF title eliminator.
Falcao, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Brazil, is now in line for the
winner of December’s title unification fight between WBA champion Ryota
Murata and IBF kingpin Gennadiy Golovkin.
*Janibek Rolls Past N’Dam*
Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs) is a problem. The
world-ranked middleweight from Kazakhstan steamrolled former two-time
champion Hassan N’Dam (38-6, 21 KOs) by eighth-round stoppage to retain his
WBO Global and WBC Continental Americas belts.
Alimkhanuly dropped N’Dam in the third round and continued marching
forward. N’Dam gamely returned fire, but Alimkhanuly was not deterred.
Whenever N’Dam landed a punch, Alimkhanuly shook his head and continued the
assault. Late in the eighth round, a multi-punch combination froze N’Dam in
the blue corner, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to end the carnage.
Alimkhanuly said, “I am ready for a world title shot next. ‘Qazaq Style’ is
about to take over the middleweight division. Any champion, it doesn’t
matter.
“I must give credit to N’Dam, a tough former champion who took a lot of
punishment.”
*In other action:*
Lightweight phenom* Raymond “Danger” Muratalla* (13-0, 11 KOs) became the
first man to knock out out *Elias Araujo *(21-4, 8 KOs), finishing things
off in the fifth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Araujo was not
seriously hurt at the time of the knockout, but referee Allen Huggins
halted the fight due to an accumulation of punishment.
Former junior featherweight world champion *Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe” *(23-2,
15 KOs) kept his hopes of a featherweight title shot alive, edging 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
straight fights since back-to-back defeats to Emanuel Navarrete.
*Adam “BluNose” Lopez* (15-3, 6 KOs) was just getting started. After
dominating the first two rounds against* Adan Ochoa* (12-2, 5 KOs), the
fight was ruled a no-decision due to an accidental headbutt that opened a
cut above Ochoa’s right eye. Ochoa sustained the damage in the opening
round and was unable to continue.
Lopez said, “I landed some good shots and was busting him up. He was
looking for a way out.
“This is so frustrating. I want to get back in the ring as soon as
possible. I’m still ready to take on anybody in the featherweight division.”
Junior lightweight prospect* “King” Karlos Balderas* (11-1, 10 KOs) notched
his second stoppage victory in a row, battering Ecuadorian veteran* Julio
Cortez* (15-4, 11 KOs) en route to a fourth-round TKO. Cortez had never
been knocked out as a pro entering the bout.
Recent U.S. Olympian *Tiger Johnson* had an eye-opening professional debut,
stopping *Antonius Grable* (3-2-1, 3 KOs) in the fourth round of a
welterweight bout. Johnson suffered the first cut of his career before
knocking down Grable with a right hand in the fourth round. Referee Allen
Huggins stopped the fight after a follow-up flurry pinned Grable against
the ropes.
Johnson said, “I’m coming. The cut was not an issue for me, and I did my
thing against a solid opponent in my professional debut. It was an honor to
debut on a big pay-per-view card in Las Vegas, and I can’t wait for my
second professional fight.”
