Prepping for Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter spars with Gervonta Davis

Two-time welterweight champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter sparred five rounds with undefeated southpaw Gervonta “Tank” Davis on Wednesday in preparation for his Nov. 20 clash with undefeated three-division title winner Terence “Bud” Crawford, Porter said within hours of their session.

A three-division champion, Davis’ past three victories comprise a 12th-round knockout of three-division champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (December 2019), a sixth round KO of four-division titleist Leo Santa Cruz (October 2020), and an 11th knockout that dethroned previously unbeaten WBA 140-pound champion Mario Barrios (June 2021).

"I think Tank Davis has been the best fighter at 130, 135 and 140," said Porter, 34, who stands 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-5 ½ for the 27-year-old Davis. "It’s no secret that he’s not going back to 130, so we can eliminate 130. Tank is the best fighter at 135, and I believe he’s the best fighter at 140. I have not seen anyone at 140 who can handle Tank."

Porter (31–3–1, 17 KOs) will challenge for the WBO’s 147-pound title owned by the switch-hitting Crawford (37–0, 28 KOs) on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View from The Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Two weeks later, Davis (25–0, 24 KOs) will defend his WBA "regular" 135-pound title in pursuit of his 17th straight knockout on Dec. 5 against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (22–1–1, 15 KOs) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in a Premier Boxing Champions event on Showtime Pay-Per-View.

Porter and Davis sparred at the B.E.S.T. Program Gym at The Spring Mountain Detention Camp an hour outside of Las Vegas, a location that is “9000 feet above sea level,” Porter said.

“We just finished five rounds of sparring with Tank Davis, and three more rounds with my Dad’s young fighter, Maliek Montgomery,” said Porter, of the 5-foot-9, 26-year-old Montgomery, who is 11-0 (10 KOs) and guided by Porter’s father and trainer, Kenny Porter.

“Tank is a sharp-shooter who is very fast and who is a very good counter-puncher who can throw the right punch at the right time. Terence will switch back and forth from southpaw to orthodox, so we worked pretty hard over five solid rounds and we were able to get exactly what we needed.”

Porter’s has gone 2-1 over the course of his past three bouts comprising a split-decision victory over current WBC champion Yordenis Ugas in March 2019, a split-decision unification loss to unbeaten southpaw IBF/WBC titleholder Errol Spence (September 2019), and a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Sebastian Formella (August 2020).

“Tank Davis was very fast and sharp, and that speaks well of him going into his next fight. I’m interested in what wins me the fight against Terence Crawford. That means controlling the distance, controlling the tempo and controlling the rhythm of the match," Porter said.

"What I gained from the sparring today was timing, hand-eye coordination in terms of seeing Terence’s rhythm and his speed and being able to defend him. I’ve gotten some good looks and was able to make some adjustments. For us to get what we’ve gotten, I’m very happy."

Davis won his first crown in January 2017, via brutal seventh-round TKO of previously unbeaten IBF 130-pound champion Jose Pedraza, claiming a world title in his first try and, at age 22, making him boxing’s youngest reigning champion at the time.

Davis finished Pedraza with a blistering right hook to the jaw as a follow up to a trio of head-swiveling lefts, his eighth consecutive stoppage,

The switch-hitting Pedraza’s second loss was at 135 pounds 23 months later in December 2018 by unanimous decision to left-handed three-division champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

Pedraza had won three straight 135-pound bouts after falling to Davis, being floored twice during a 40-plus punch 11th round by Lomachenko, a two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist whose run of eight straight knockouts ended against Pedraza.

“I believe that Tank’s style and Lomachenko’s style match up very well,” Porter said. “I can’t pick a winner, but I think Tank is fast, strong and sharp enough to beat Lomachenko.”

In October 2020, Lomachenko lost a unanimous decision to unbeaten Teofimo Lopez, who added Lomachenko’s WBA, WBC (franchise) and WBO 135-pound belts to his IBF version.

“I thought Teofimo Lopez showed some brilliance on a perfect night for Lopez against Lomachenko," said Porter of Lomachenko, who rebounded with June’s ninth-round TKO of Masayoshi Nakatani. "Seeing Lomachenko’s last fight, he demonstrated to me that he had the wrong game plan for Teofimo Lopez.”

Davis won the WBA’s vacant 135-pound title with his three-knockdown victory over Gamboa, Santa Cruz was knocked out cold and stopped for the first time in his career, and Barrios hit the deck three times, falling to 26-1 (17 KOs).

"What I feel now about a fight between Tank Davis and Vasyl Lomachenko is that’ it is the best fight that can be made at 135,” Porter said. “I have Tank No. 1 and Lomachenko No. 2 at 135 even though Teofimo has all of the belts.”