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OMAHA, Neb. -- Welterweight world titleholder Terence Crawford and challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. started their fight a tad early. After both made weight Friday, they went nose-to-nose for a face-off, which was a bit too close for comfort for Benavidez, who gave Crawford a two-handed shove in the chest. Crawford responded by throwing a right hand that barely missed nailing Benavidez, who slipped it without getting caught. Their handlers and police on hand immediately separated the fighters, but the raging bad blood that has been a hallmark of the promotion had finally spilled over more than 24 hours before they will enter the ring in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10:30 p.m. ET with the full card streaming on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET) at the CHI Health Center. "They been telling me to be cool all week. I been cool," Crawford said afterward. "I been keeping it professional, and he pushed me. You seen what I did. I'm cool, I just can't wait to fight [on Saturday]." What started out as Benavidez (27-0, 18 KOs), 26, pushing hard for the fight by calling out Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs), 31, during a confrontation at a weigh-in February in Corpus Christi, Texas, has not cooled off. When Crawford and his team arrived early for a workout for the media on Wednesday before Benavidez and his team had left the gym, they engaged in a shouting match and had to be restrained.  There was more back-and-forth and promises of knockouts and other bodily harm at Thursday's final prefight news conference. And then it got physical after both made weight on Friday. Crawford, with the hometown fans cheering for him, weighed 145.4 pounds, and Phoenix's Benavidez was 145 pounds. Both were well under the 147-pound division limit for three-division world titleholder Crawford's first welterweight title defense and Benavidez's first world title opportunity. "He's a b----, and I'm gonna make him my b---- [on Saturday], too. He was trying to get in my face, and he tried to swing," Benavidez said. "I seen that s--- a mile away. If he swings like that [in the fight], good night. It's gonna be an easy night. I hope he throws a faster punch than that [in the fight]. He got in my face, and I felt like he was gonna kiss me, and I don't want none of that. He got in my face. He started it. If I got in your face, you're not going to push me back? Of course, you are." Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has been concerned about the fighters getting physical before the bout and had warned Crawford and Benavidez to keep it professional. He was upset after the incident. "It's wrong. There is no place for this in boxing," Arum said. "Keep your emotions to yourself until you get in to the f---ing ring." Neither fighter is likely to face any disciplinary action but could face a fine, according to Brian Dunn, the deputy commissioner of the Nebraska State Athletic Commission. He said he was going to discuss the matter with his boss, commissioner Aaron Hendry. "You have to punish the one who started it, but the other doesn't get off either, because you can't expect a guy to do nothing," Dunn said. "There will likely be a fine if there's any punishment." Dunn said the commission had the authority to fine a fighter up to 40 percent of his purse, but he said if there are fines, they won't be anything close to that much money. Crawford's official purse is $2 million, though he is guaranteed $3.625 million from Top Rank. Benavidez's official purse is $350,000, but he has a $500,000 guarantee.
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