Terence Crawford Beats Shawn Porter Via 10th-Round TKO to Retain WBO Title

Terence "Bud" Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) survived one of the toughest tests of his career Saturday night, defeating Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs) by technical knockout in the 10th round to retain the WBO world welterweight title at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Porter, a former two-time world welterweight champion, looked primed to play spoiler for most of the night, disrupting Crawford's timing with his aggression and mauling attacks. The champion reached a different level in the 10th however, finding a home for his counter left hand and dropping Porter twice before the challenger's corner decided to call off the bout.

This is Crawford's fifth successful defense of his WBO welterweight world title. The result also extends his stoppage streak to a career-best nine matches. For Porter, it's the first time he's been stopped in his 13-year professional career. 

In the post-match interview, the 34-year-old Crawford sent a message to Errol Spence Jr., the WBC and IBF welterweight champion who was in attendance for the fight.

Spence certainly saw the best of Crawford in this bout, but he also might've gotten some valuable intel thanks to Porter's spirited performance.

True to form, Porter came out swinging against Crawford, and was easily the more active fighter in the first round. After a switch from an orthodox stance to southpaw in the second frame, Crawford started to match Porter's intensity, and the two got into some big exchanges.

The frantic energy saw the two boxers get tangled up and clash heads in the third round. Porter appeared to get the worst of it, with a cut opening up immediately over his right eye. Not that it deterred him. Porter kept going right after the champion, pumping the jab and setting up both fighters to wail away at each other with power punches.

Crawford typically likes to keep a measured pace in the opening rounds, but Porter simply wouldn't allow it. Had he gotten out of control, Porter could have eaten some big shots early on. However, he picked his spots well and the sheer volume of his punching kept Crawford thinking and on his back foot. 

The sixth round saw another accidental clash of heads open a cut between Crawford's eyes. It came just as Bud started to let his hands go, and the short reprieve allowed Porter to gather up steam again and start mauling the favorite. The smothering attacks made it hard for Crawford to string together his dazzling, precise combinations.

A hard right hand from Porter seemed to briefly stun Crawford in the eighth round with an overhand right, but the Omaha, Nebraska native composed himself in the final minute, picking off Porter as he made his charge and landing a couple of crunching body shots.

The tenth round saw Crawford finally perfect his timing on Porter's lunging attacks. He scored a knockdown early in the frame with a counter left that landed right on the button.

One of the most ruthless finishers in the game, Crawford didn't take long to send Porter to the canvas again with a laser-accurate combination. Porter slammed his fists on the ground in frustration. He looked like wanted to continue, but his father, Kenny Porter, was watching from the corner and decided to save his son from likely further punishment.

This was an important win for Crawford, who has faced less-than-stellar competition over the years. There's no doubting Porter's bona fides, so to win with a stoppage goes a long way toward enhancing his legacy as a modern great. 

The attention will now turn to a potential unification fight with Spence in 2022, which would be arguably the biggest on the boxing calendar.

Saturday's bout was Crawford's final fight under his contract with Top Rank Promotions, which creates an opening for him to set up a clash with Spence, who fights for Premier Boxing Champions. Spence has been medically cleared to fight again after an eye injury prevented him from taking on Manny Pacquiao earlier this year.