By Allan Fox: A fight between WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) and former IBF 147 pound champion Shawn Porter (25-1-1, 16 KOs) is possible for June 20th, according to Fighthype.com. The Thurman vs. Porter fight could wind up on a Premier Boxing Champions card on one of the networks.
There’s also a possibility of former three division world champion Adrien Broner also fighting on that date. This card, if it comes off, could potentially be competing against WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward’s card on the same night.
Ward is with Roc Nation Sports now, and he still doesn’t have a fight yet for his fight at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
Thurman-Porter would be a nice lateral move for Thurman from his tougher than expected fight against Robert “The Ghost’ Guerrero last March. Thurman had said he was going to slug with Guerrero for the first six rounds, but he was forced to give up on the idea of slugging after he suffered a large bruise on his forehead from a head-butt in the 3rd. The swelling got worse as each round progressed.
Thurman also didn’t look all that great when he was standing in the pocket against Guerrero, as he was hit a lot. Once Thurman started moving, he did a lot better. However, he appeared to fade a bit in the later rounds due to all the movement he was doing. Thurman knocked Guerrero down in the 9th round.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Oo1c4HRLg
Porter is coming off of a 5th round knockout over little known Erick Bone last March. Porter didn’t look very good before knocking Bone out. Bone was able to hit Porter quite a bit before the knockout.
Thurman wants the big fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, but he doesn’t have the name recognition yet for him to get the big money fights. It’s unclear whether he’ll get to that level before those two fighters retire. He’s going to need to keep fighting well-known guys if he wants to get the bigger fights. Porter would be a great opponent for him to help increase his popularity.
It also will be a dangerous fight for Thurman because Porter can punch, and he’s a great pressure fighter. Thurman is a good pot shot fighter from the outside, but he’s poor at fighting in close. Thurman mainly holds when his opponents get in close with him. If Porter is able to fight through Thurman’s clinching, he would beat him up and take his WBA title. Thurman is a good fighter but he’s flawed in a way that leaves him vulnerable against anyone he faces.
Porter lost his IBF welterweight title last year in August to Kell Brook, who beat Porter by a 12 round unanimous decision. Porter had problems with the clinching that Brook was doing each time he would come inside on him. Instead of fighting through the clinch like guys like Marcos Maidana typically do, Porter just let Brook clinch him all night long without continuing to work. Porter wants a rematch with Brook, but that’s not in the cards. Brook is going in another direction.
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