By Dan Ambrose: WBA “regular” welterweight champion Keith Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) could be back inside the ring in less than two months from now on October 3rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. The possible opponents they’re looking at are Amir Khan or Shawn Porter. Thurman currently has a hand injury, and that would need to be healed before he can return to the ring.
“I’ve heard he might be back Oct. 3 if his hand is OK. I hear names like Khan or Porter maybe at Barclays Center,” Rafael said during his chat on Friday at ESPN.com.
It would be a big jump up for Thurman if he were to take on Khan or Porter, because Thurman has not been taking on the real difficult opponents thus far. Thurman has wins over Robert Guerrero, Leonard Bundu, Diego Chaves, Jesus Soto Karass, Carlos Quintana and Luis Collazo. However, all of them were flawed fighters without a huge amount of punching power. Despite that, Thurman was hurt by Chaves, Soto Karass and Collazo.
Thurman ran from Bundu for 12 rounds and looked really poor like he was afraid of him. Thurman explained after the Bundu fight that he wanted to box him, and didn’t want to punch with him. But a lot of boxing fans were disappointed with Thurman’s inability to stand in the pocket against Bundu.
If Thurman can get Khan, he’d be very happy because he’s been talking about this fight for a long time now. Thurman believes he’s got the power, speed and talent to KO Khan if given the chance. But as bad as Thurman has looked in some of his fights most notably his last one against Collazo, it’s quite possible that Khan could beat him if he’s able to stay on his feet for the full 12 rounds.
Porter would be a real tough opponent for Thurman as well, because of his power, hand speed, ability to cut off the ring and his inside fighting skills. Thurman couldn’t run from Porter like he’s done against a lot of his opponents because Porter is so good at cutting off the ring. Thurman would actually have to fight Porter to keep him off of him.
Thurman isn’t much of a clincher, but if he did decide to copy the blueprint that Kell Brook created in clinching Porter 10+ times per round to shut down his offense, it still likely wouldn’t work. Porter now works through clinches by continuing to throw punches while being held. He no longer gives up when he’s being clinched, and that means that you can’t use that strategy to try and keep him from landing his shots.
Porter would be the more dangerous opponent by far for Thurman due to his superior inside fighting skills, his excellent chin, and his ability to cut off the ring. Thurman would have a very hard time against Porter, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets knocked out by him. Thurman doesn’t have a great chin, and he doesn’t seem to handle body shots very well either. Thurman’s face marks up quickly when he gets hit, and I could see him taking a pounding from Porter.
It’s going to be up to Thurman’s adviser Al Haymon in whom he fights next. If Haymon wants Thurman to have a big test, he’ll put him in with Porter. If he wants to give him his best chance to win, he’ll match him up against the more vulnerable Khan and hope that he can handle his hand speed and boxing skills.
Haymon can’t protect Thurman even if he wanted to, because guys like Errol Spence are moving upwards quickly in the rankings, and that’s a really bad match-up for Thurman. I can’t see him beating Spence. For that reason, it would be better for Haymon to put Thurman in the best money fights he can get right now before he gets knocked out by Spence in the near future.
Once Spence grabs the WBA title after besting Thurman, it’s going to make the Khan or Porter fights less interesting for Thurman. He’ll just be another beaten former world champion trying to keep his career above water. A loss to Porter would put Thurman right where Adrien Broner is right now.
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