The search for the megafight is over for Terence Crawford.
On Saturday night, Crawford puts his WBO welterweight title on the line against former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter from the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
As always, with a big-time boxing card, there are certainly plenty of bets to be made. Let's take a look at some of them.
Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter odds
Terence Crawford: -650
Shawn Porter: +450
(All odds via BetMGM)
BetMGM (as of Friday, Nov. 19) has Crawford installed as a massive favorite — coming in at -650, meaning you'd need to bet a whopping $650 just to win $100. Meanwhile, Porter is a +450, meaning if you pluck down $100, you will win $450.
After becoming the undisputed champion at 140 pounds in August 2017 with a thudding stoppage of Julius Indongo, Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) decided to ply trade one weight class higher. The fights he was looking for to firmly entrench himself as the sport's top-pound-for-pound fighter appeared to be within his grasp. The first thing "Bud" did was thrash Manny Pacquiao conqueror Jeff Horn in his first contest at welterweight to win the WBO belt and become a three-division world champion in the process.
Settled into his new journey, the fights only appeared to be a matter of time. Instead, Crawford was stonewalled by boxing politics and unable to secure unified champion Errol Spence Jr., former champions Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, and a now-retired Pacquiao. So Crawford shuffled forward and stopped Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan, Egidijus "Mean Machine" Kavaliauskas, and Kell Brook. But, unfortunately, those impressive showing still couldn't get any of those fights to materialize.
A miracle occurred when the WBO ordered Crawford to take on Porter, who was deemed the mandatory challenger. And here we are.
Crawford vs. Porter prediction
It's a little surprising that the odds are this high in favor of Crawford.
Porter's resume is nothing to laugh at. He's shared the ring with Spence, Thurman, Garcia, WBA (super) titlist Yordenis Ugas, and Adrien Broner. Yet, while facing solid competition like Viktor Postol and Kavaliauskas, Crawford's not taken on anything close to the opposition of Porter.
Should that matter in the grand scheme of things? Not really. Seeing is believing, and Crawford doesn't try to coast to decisions. When Crawford's got someone on the ropes, he's an assassin hunting for blood. He's finished his last eight opponents and 11 of his previous 12. The only one to survive and make it the distance was Postol.
Porter (31-3, 17 KOs) knows only one way to fight. That's moving forward with constant pressure and throwing whenever he sees the slightest opening to attack. But if he's going to keep the distance close, Porter's going to have to stay all the way in. Giving Crawford any room will result in a bad day at the office. He possesses tremendous power in both hands and can drop you with either one.
If Porter can make it his fight in the early rounds and keep Crawford on the ropes and wearing him down, we could see an upset. Crawford has excellent side-to-side movement and is quicker than Spence, who narrowly beat Porter in September 2019 in one of that year's best fights.
Spence dropped Porter, and I see the same thing happening on Saturday evening. Porter will succeed early, but Crawford will figure him out by blasting his power jab, which is as efficient as power punches.
Laying down any money on Crawford at -650 is ludicrous. Sure, you can wager a few dollars on Porter at +450 as that's a tremendous value, and anything can happen in a fight.
Ultimately, Crawford's speed and power are going to be too much for Porter, and the Nebraska native notches the career-defining win he's been looking for.
There's a couple of bets you can't go wrong with. First, Crawford by KO/TKO/DQ is a steal at +175, considering what he's done up to this point. Also, there is great value on the round props with Crawford stopping Porter late. You can get Crawford by KO in Round 9 at +1600, Round 10 at +1600, Round 11 at +1800, and Round 12 at +2500.
I'm making a couple of wagers in placing $100 on Crawford by stoppage at +175 and another $100 for each round ending via stoppage for the reigning champion.
Muehlhausen's pick: Terence Crawford
Best odds: Terence Crawford via stoppage: +175
More Crawford vs. Porter odds
Method of victory
Crawford by KO/TKO/Technical decision or DQ: +175
Crawford on points: -125
Porter by KO/TKO/Technical decision or DQ: +1000
Porter on points: +900
Tie: +2000