Crawford: "Let's not mention Benavidez and Porter's sparring"

Terence Crawford replied to comment of Shawn Porter about his fight against Jose Benavidez Jr. Two days before Crawford spoke to the media during a virtual press conference on Friday, Porter noted that the then undefeated Benavidez gave Crawford the most difficult fight of the undefeated three-division champion's career.

Crawford stopped Benavidez in the 12th round of their fight for the WBO welterweight title in October 2018, but Benavidez gave Crawford quite a few problems with his size, height and skills along the way.

Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) did not call Benavidez his toughest opponent on Friday, but he acknowledged the qualities that made Benavidez a tough opponent. Crawford, 34, also said that Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs), his opponent this coming Saturday, was having a hard time sparring with Benavidez.

“As I said, Jose Benavidez is a talented fighter,” Crawford said. "You know, he was considered the next boxing superstar. You know, I take off my hat to Benavidez. He did what he did on the day of the fight. He is very good at counterattacking. He is tall, long, uncomfortable. But let's not talk about his sparring with Porter. Sean knows very well how good Jose Benavidez is, because he has been in the ring with him too."

Crawford did not divulge details of what happened when Porter sparred with Benavidez, but the hint that Benavidez had the upper hand was clear. Crawford did not specify when Porter sparred with Benavidez, but it was not in preparation for his upcoming fight against Crawford.

“No, no, that was a long time ago,” Crawford said. "I don't know if they've sparred lately. I'm just saying that they have sparred in the past. So he knows Benavidez well. "

Benavidez (27-1-1, 18 KOs) returned to the ring last Saturday in Phoenix for the first time since losing to Crawford three years ago. Benavidez, 29, did not look good, Emanuel Torres (17-3-1, 5 KOs) from Argentina gave him a lot of problems and their 10-round meeting ended in a draw.