Kenny Porter says Shawn didn’t prepare properly for Terence Crawford

By Rob Smith - 11/21/2021 - Comments

Last Saturday night, trainer Kenny Porter threw his son under the bus by telling ESPN and the viewing audience that Shawn Porter hadn’t appropriately prepared for his fight against WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

Kenny says he pulled Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs) out in the 10th round because he hadn’t prepared right in training camp. Porter had been knocked down twice in the 10th by Crawford, but he didn’t look hurt when Kenny pulled him out. More than anything, Porter looked frustrated and angry at himself for being careless.

It sounded strange what Kenny was saying, and the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino fans let him know about it by booing him loudly when he was giving his wacky explanation for why he stopped the fight. It didn’t wash with them.

Without going into exact details on what precisely Porter didn’t do in camp, Kenny let the fans and ESPN interview Bernard Osuna know that he wasn’t pleased with his 34-year-old son’s preparation for the Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) fight.

Kenny claimed that Shawn couldn’t protect himself, and he didn’t want to leave him out there to soak up more punishment from the 34-year-old Crawford.

Porter looked embarrassed at Kenny, saying he hadn’t prepared, and he put him in a bad spot with that comment.

Kenny Porter says Shawn didn't prepare properly for Terence Crawford

“Honestly? His preparation,” said Kenny when asked by ESPN after the fight why he pulled Porter out. “He didn’t prepare like I wanted him to.

“That just makes me say, ‘You know what? I don’t want him in that situation.’

“He fought a great fighter. The guy’s super sharp. And [Shawn is] at a deficit. It’s like fighting this guy blindfolded when you’re in a deficit like that. So I wasn’t going to let that happen to him,” said Kenny.

The boxing fans that paid their hard-earned money to watch the fight live at the Mandalay Bay and the people at home that paid $70+ to order it on ESPN PPV weren’t happy. This was by far the best fight on the entire card, which mostly mismatches.

“When guys get to a certain level, they believe they know what they’re doing, and they don’t necessarily take all the information,” Kenny said. “So this is where we’re at with it. And I had to make that decision.

“It was an easy decision for me. Easy. He lives right across the street from me. I’ll be having breakfast with him in the morning.”

After the fight, Porter announced his retirement at the post-fight press conference, saying he refuses to become a “gatekeeper” for other fighters.

What was disappointing was Porter’s comment that he had already made up his mind that he would retire after the fight, regardless of the outcome.

Fans would have liked to have known ahead of time that Porter was planning on retiring after the fight because many of them wouldn’t have purchased it on PPV if they’d known that this was just a cash-out.

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