It’s the fight that everyone involved in Terence Crawford’s career has sought from the moment he arrived at welterweight.

For Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, the upcoming WBO welterweight title fight between Crawford and former two-time titlist Shawn Porter is a throwback to his heyday.

“These two fighters, Terence and Shawn are the elite of the welterweight division,” Arum insisted during a recent Zoom media conference call to discuss the upcoming event. “Because I’ve been around boxing for so long, it reminds me of the great years in the [1980s] when Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran were all fighting each other.”

There have been plenty of top-level welterweight matchups in recent years, though none involving Crawford (37-0, 28KOs). The unbeaten three-division titlist and reigning WBO welterweight champ has been forced to settle for a string of uninspiring matchups since his one-sided ninth-round knockout of unbeaten Jeff Horn more than three years ago.

The pound-for-pound entrant from Omaha, Nebraska finally claims his place at the table as he faces Porter (31-3-1, 17KOs) atop a November 20 ESPN+ Pay-Per-View event from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Porter is on the opposite end of the spectrum, having fought nearly every top welterweight during and in between his two separate title reigns. All three career defeats came in title fights versus unbeaten opposition—Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Errol Spence—while claiming wins over Danny Garcia, Yordenis Ugas and Devon Alexander along the way.  

Top Rank made a point to work with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to ensure a deal was reached to avoid a purse bid hearing. The effort was made based on the willingness of both fighters to face one another. The paying public has responded, with less than 300 tickets left at the box office and interest continuing to build for the PPV event.

“The welterweight division has always been a top, top division because there’s so much action that the fighters bring,” notes Arum. “Terence and Shawn remind me of that era when these great fighters went at it.

“I’m not surprised that we sold out so quickly. I’m not surprised there’s so much interest in this fight. I don’t have to oversell anything here. Everyone who knows anything about boxing, knowns what a great fight and a competitive fight this is going to be.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox