Terence Crawford finally has a fight to prove himself, even if it's not the one he wants

LAS VEGAS -- Terence "Bud" Crawford is used to hearing the question.

No matter how impressive his in-ring performances have been, despite becoming an undisputed junior welterweight champion and winning world titles in three divisions, the question is always the same.

"Who has Crawford fought?"

Crawford has long been recognized as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but that reputation was built on dominating lesser names rather than ousting other superstars along the way. His move to 147 pounds has come with particular stagnation, as fights against the biggest names in the division -- Errol Spence Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman, among others -- have failed to materialize.

The questions amid his struggle to make the big fights have led Crawford to form a serious chip on his shoulder -- much like Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Bernard Hopkins before him. Each of the three men carried a scowl inside the ring that they routinely duplicated outside the ropes. Much of that is owed to the disrespect they perceived -- real or imagined -- from peers, fans and, of course, the media.

But after years of pursuing fights against the best fighters in the welterweight division, Crawford finally has one -- even if it's not the one who has been at the top of his list.

Shawn Porter is a former welterweight champion who brings an aggression to the ring that is unmatched, and unlike Crawford, he's been in the ring with the likes of Spence and Thurman. Saturday's welterweight title fight (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV) presents a more significant challenge than Crawford has ever faced, and if Crawford wins, the query about whom he has fought will no longer have much merit. Maybe that's why, in the lead-up to his toughest test yet, the scowl has occasionally transformed into a smile.

"I've just always been determined to show the world that I'm better than the next person standing next to me," said Crawford.

To this point, no one has proved him wrong, as Crawford has won all 37 of his professional fights. His climb began with his first title, a 135-pound belt won in 2014 against Ricky Burns. He became undisputed champion at 140 pounds in 2017 with his knockout of Julius Indongo. And Crawford won his latest belt -- the WBO welterweight strap -- with a TKO victory over Jeff Horn in his next fight after unifying the junior welterweight division.

The accomplishments sound impressive, but the issue along the way has been that none of those opponents was remotely close to the elite level, robbing Crawford, 34, of the opportunity to showcase how his abilities match up against a top-level challenger. It's one thing to beat the opponents you're expected to beat. It's another thing to shine against the best.

Porter, at long last, should present Crawford with the chance to display a new layer to his game. The 34-year-old is relentless with his pressure, he's strong, and he possesses an unbreakable will. More so, Porter has proved himself against the best welterweights in the world, with notable victories over Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia and Adrien Broner, and razor-thin decision losses to Kell Brook, Thurman and Spence.

It's Spence, of course, who was meant to be Crawford's ultimate test -- a matchup that's long eluded the sport. But Porter will suffice for now. Despite his long odds (he's a 6-1 underdog), Porter is an elite talent at welterweight and a class above the 15 title fights Crawford's had to this point in his career.

On Saturday night the resume changes for good. And Crawford has much to prove.

WHEN TOP RANK linked up with ESPN on an exclusive multiyear deal in 2017, Crawford was one of the promotion's main attractions. Bob Arum kicked off the partnership with a fight between Pacquiao and Horn in Australia, as Horn shocked the future Hall of Famer via a highly controversial decision. One month later, Crawford was center stage for his first ESPN appearance, defeating Indongo to claim all four major junior welterweight titles.

Crawford would only climb from there. He vacated those titles to move up to 147 pounds, and his first opponent was an obvious choice: Horn. The hard-nosed Horn was plenty game but never had a chance against Crawford. What Horn had that Crawford still lacked, however, was a fight against Pacquiao.

TKO wins over well-past-their-prime versions of Brook and Amir Khan followed. So, too, did stoppage victories over Jose Benavidez Jr., a contender with limited mobility due to a gunshot wound, and Egidijus "Mean Machine" Kavaliauskas.

That performance against Kavaliauskas, who occasionally pushed Crawford before succumbing late, didn't garner Crawford much accolade at the time.

"They ain't going to give me the credit because in their eyes, I'm supposed to do that because nobody knows who Kavaliauskas is," said Crawford, though really, he could be talking about many of his opponents. "If everyone knew who he was and he had this big name, then it would be something. But being that he doesn't have the name to back all the things that he's done in boxing, it doesn't mean anything."

That win aged gracefully, though, especially after "Mean Machine" pushed rising star Vergil Ortiz to the brink in August. Another performance that should garner more recognition is Crawford's 2016 victory over Viktor Postol to unify 140-pound titles. Postol, the only fighter to take Crawford the distance since 2014, has since fought Josh Taylor and Jose Ramirez.

With knockouts in his past eight fights and 11 of his past 12, Crawford has earned himself a reputation as one of the best finishers in boxing. Porter, however, has never been knocked out, and has been knocked down only twice in his entire career -- in his loss to Spence and against Adrien Broner.

"Everyone's seen what I've done; every experience that I've had, I've held onto them and I've used them to my advantage," said Porter, ESPN's No. 4 welterweight. "Me having more experience than Terence Crawford, that is a fact. When I say I have what it takes to beat him, don't sleep on that, believe that."

Porter crossing the promotional divide for this fight largely boils down to the WBO. The Puerto Rico-based organization ordered Crawford to defend his title against Porter over the summer. Before the rights to the fight could be auctioned off at a purse bid, Arum and Haymon struck a deal. Crawford will earn a career-high $6 million, a deal negotiated by his new adviser, Daniel Kinahan.

Porter will earn $4 million, a guarantee negotiated by Haymon in order for him to agree to lend the fighter to Top Rank. Haymon's boxers exclusively compete on Showtime and Fox, and it's rare for one of his top fighters to fight off platform. Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury 2 and Fury-Wilder 3 were both co-promoted on multiple PPV platforms.

But even if Crawford can deliver and overcome the big-fight experience disparity, he knows that a win over Porter will only bring back the chatter about Crawford fighting Spence and Thurman.

They're both aligned with PBC. As with Porter, that's one of the primary roadblocks that has long stood in the way of the big fights for Crawford. Top Rank's Arum and PBC's Al Haymon rarely conduct business with one another, save for fights like the incredibly lucrative pair of matchups between Fury and Wilder.

The roadblock that's kept Crawford away from Spence and the PBC might not stand for much longer. Saturday's fight is Crawford's last under his current contract with Top Rank. Although all appears well on the surface between boxer and promoter, it was only last year that Arum bemoaned Crawford's large guarantees, and likely only added to the growing chip on Crawford's shoulder.

"The question is, do we want to keep him? I could build a house in Beverly Hills on the money I've lost on him in the last three fights," Arum said last November before Crawford defeated Brook.

If Crawford signs with PBC or remains a promotional free agent, he'll surely have more options in terms of opponents. But he has earned tens of millions with Top Rank, and if making the Porter fight a reality is any indication, perhaps crossing the promotional street is becoming more realistic.

Despite not getting that signature fight, Crawford is adamant that he tried to do his part over the years.