Shawn Porter evidently thinks that Terence Crawford could have approached negotiations for an undisputed welterweight fight with Errol Spence Jr. in a more sensible manner.

Crawford and Spence were in talks for several months but the highly anticipated bout never reached the finish line. Earlier this month, Crawford took to social media to explain how the fight failed to get made, and he pinned most of the blame on Spence and his influential advisor Al Haymon, the founder of Premier Boxing Champions. In his 20-minute Instagram Live interview, Crawford made it clear he was intimately involved in all the granular aspects of negotiations, saying he spoke to Haymon directly. Crawford, a free agent, left his longtime promoter Top Rank last year.

Porter, the former champion who retired last year after getting stopped by Crawford in their WBO 147-pound title bout, indicated in a recent interview that the Omaha, Nebraska native’s free agency may have worked against him. Porter, moreover, said that Crawford may not have approached negotiations in a way that would have earned the respect of Haymon, a Harvard graduate who made a name for himself in the music promotion business before pivoting to boxing in the early 2000s. Porter, like Spence, was guided by Haymon for most of his career.

“Terence needs somebody else to represent him and speak to Mr. Haymon, because Mr. Haymon is not going to respect him as a businessman,” Porter told Tha Boxing Voice. “We already know you throw the fists. What substantial [business sense] are you coming to me with. It is what it is.

“Nobody’s gonna respect Terence Crawford as a businessman until they see some business moves happen and they start to say, ‘OK, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s legit. But this first shot, trying to get it with Errol and doing it on your own ain’t gon get it done.”  

Porter, who now runs a popular, eponymous podcast and also works as a commentator, said it would behoove Crawford to follow certain business protocol if he truly wants to cut a deal with Haymon, whose PBC has networks deals with Fox and Showtime. 

“So he’s gon’ have to show people that he can do the business and furthermore be professional about it, know what I mean?” Porter said. “It can’t be a cold call at 10 am. It has to be very, very professional in order for Mr. Haymon and other people outside the ring to take you serious.”

Crawford said during his Instagram tell-all that he had approached Haymon about a $50 million offer from two hedge funds but that Haymon would not consider the offer, which, in the end, became a dealbreaker for Crawford. Spence subsequently fired back at Crawford on Twitter, saying that Crawford was unable to testify to the legitimacy of the financial backers. In a subsequent interview, Crawford refused to reveal the identity of the so-called investors.

Crawford is scheduled to take on David Avanesyan on Dec. 10 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, on BLK Prime, an obscure pay-per-view platform.