Promoter Bob Arum believes there is no better option than for Terence Crawford to face Shawn Porter in his next fight.
The WBO champion has been mandated to fight the 33-year-old former champion and the pair will meet on November 20.
There are few alternatives for a big-name opponent in the welterweight class, as Yordenis Ugas only recently fought Manny Pacquiao, and Errol Spence Jr. is recovering from an eye injury that required surgery. Another potential opponent, Josh Taylor, has at least one more fight at 140lbs against his own mandatory, Jack Catterall.
Porter has yet to fight in 2020 but is a dangerous fighter, Arum admits.
“Nobody can come up with a better opponent for Terence at this particular point in time,” he told BoxingScene.com. “With Pacquiao having lost and Spence being out with an injury, what better fight is there for Terence Crawford other than Porter?”
“It’s a terrific fight,” Arum continued. “Any fighter who is trying to establish his credentials and his worth needs to have a top-flight opponent. And Crawford-Porter is highly competitive, and therefore it’s a fight that is good not only for Terence, but also for Porter.”
Arum believes that Porter and Crawford are two high-profile fighters who can garner enough attention to make a sizeable profit now crowds are able to attend sporting events again.
“I’m excited about it because there are a limited number of fights that I wanna see, and this is one of ‘em,” he said.
“This is a fight that excites me, that I wanted to happen, that if I wasn’t doing it, I would buy a ticket or watch it on pay-per-view. This is a fight that means something and is worth watching, particularly since we have had such loads of garbage presented to the public as meaningful events. This now is truly a meaningful event.”