Terence Crawford has criticised Shawn Porter’s preparation ahead of their fight this Saturday, calling one statement ‘a lie’.
Crawford is rarely ruffled by his opponents before any fight, but former champion Porter is one of his toughest tasks in recent years.
Speaking to Sky Sports , Crawford rejected claims from Porter that an earlier offer for a match-up was rejected, saying: "No, that's not true.
"The truth of the matter is that when they asked me for the fight it was just talk, there was no offer.
"Then when [my promoters] Top Rank offered them the fight, they turned it down because they wanted more money.
"Then me and Shawn talked on the phone and he asked me what I thought about a potential fight with him.
"I told him that if I couldn't get the Manny Pacquiao fight then we would revisit it. I didn't get the Pacquiao fight - we're here."
The WBO welterweight champion also said, "That's a lie. Definitely a lie," when Kenny Porter, Shawn’s father, claimed they had not focused on watching Crawford fight as they prepared for the title challenge.”
The unbeaten American also rejected claims he was irritated by Porter’s social media activity, saying: "I don't care why he says the things that he says. Why would I care about a tweet?"