By Chris Williams: WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) wants a conclusive end to his fight against Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) this month on June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Thurman wants a knockout, and he feels confident he’ll be able to make that happen.
Thurman says Porter will run into something when he comes after him the way he normally fights. Thurman has the power to knockout any fighter in the division. The only question is whether he’ll be willing to engage enough with the 28-year-old Porter to use his power.
Thurman, 27, usually likes to fight in a hit and run style, and that style doesn’t produce knockouts against the better fighters in the sport. If Thurman wants to KO Porter, he’ll need to be able to stand in the pocket and let his hands go.
This means that Thurman will need to be willing to get hit by Porters best shots, and it’s doubtful that he’ll be willing to put himself in that position in this fight. Thurman can dish it out a lot better than he can take it.
“I’m ready for Shawn Porter. We’re going to box harder, box stronger and box better. I will be the better man,” said Thurman. “The Energizer Bunny has never been hit by Keith Thurman, and I’m pretty sure I could stop it in its tracks.”
Thurman needs to make sure he keeps his guard up in this fight, because if he is hit back hard enough, he might fall apart. Diego Chaves, Jesus Soto Karass and Luis Collazo all had Thurman in trouble in their fight. Robert Guerrero was getting the better of Thurman when he tried to test himself by standing in front of him and slugging. Thurman said before the Guerrero fight he would stand stationary in front of him and slug for the first six rounds. However, Thurman had to abandon that idea in the 4th round when his forehead started to swell up badly from a clash of heads.
Thurman was getting hit a lot and he did not look like he was able to handle Guerrero in a one-on-one slugging match. It wasn’t until Thurman went back to his normal hit and dash style of fighting that he was able to take control over the fight.
“I’m going for the knockout. I’ve stated it before. My hands are itching for a knockout. I’m ‘One Time,’ all the time,” said Thurman. “That’s my philosophy. Every single time I step into the ring I’m looking for the knockout. We don’t get paid for overtime.”
Thurman failed to get knockouts against Guerrero and Leonard Bundu. Thurman has knocked out only one in his last three opponents. He was able to stop 35-year-old Luis Collazo in the 7th round last year in July. However, Collazo is no longer seen as a relevant fighter in the 147lb division. Collazo was given a high ranking by the WBA, but he had done very little to deserve that ranking other than beating Victor Ortiz and losing badly to Amir Khan. It didn’t make sense for Thurman to fight Collazo after the way he was beaten by Khan.
Thurman says he wants to unify the titles in the welterweight division if he can beat Porter. It’s possible for Thurman to accomplish that if his manager Al Haymon lets him fight WBC champion Danny Garcia, and if he can get a shot at the winner of the unification match between IBF champion Kell Brook and WBO champ Jessie Vargas.
Thurman should hope that Brook beats Vargas, because setting up a unification match against Brook would likely be a lot easier than putting together a fight against the Top Rank promoted Vargas. If Vargas beats Brook, then Thurman might just as well forget about unifying the entire welterweight division because I don’t think it’s possible.
“The winner will have an opportunity to be the head guy in the sport. I’ve always wanted to have a legacy in the sport of boxing,” said Thurman. “I want to be the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. That’s my ultimate goal.
The winner of the Thurman-Porter fight will not be the head guy in the sport, as Thurman says. I don’t know if it’s possible for Thurman to become the head guy in the sport even if he unifies the welterweight division, which I don’t think he can do.
Thurman’s hit and run style o fighting is just not entertaining enough for him to become the top guy in the sport in my view. It’s not entertaining to see Thurman land a shot and then immediately retreat so that he doesn’t get hit. It would be far better if Thurman would stay in the same spot and show that he can make his opponent miss without moving away like he does. Mayweather was able to avoid shots without moving during his career. Thurman needs to show that he can do the same thing.