By J. Calderon: WBA Welterweight Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (27-0, 22 KO’s) successfully defended his crown from a hungry and relentless young lion in former IBF Welterweight Champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter (26-2-1, 16 KO’s) via unanimous decision in front of a roaring crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The closely contested action-packed fight was scored 115-113 for Keith Thurman on all three judges’ scorecards. It was televised for free on Premier Boxing Champions on CBS, in what has to be seen as the most successful and competitive matchup in the series thus far. The crowd was visibly unhappy with the decision, but Shawn and Keith both had each other hurt throughout the bout, with Keith out-landing Shawn in power punches 203 to 177 and Shawn out-landing Keith in jabs 59 to 32 respectively.
The first ten rounds were back and forth, with Shawn attempting to smother Thurman with punches and Thurman countering and landing the cleaner, effective punches. Keith Thurman took the championship rounds 11 and 12, and although he failed to deliver on his promise of a KO victory, Keith won a fair decision. Tonight, there were no losers. It was exactly the breath of fresh air that the boxing world needed: two of the top welterweights in the world, both in their physical primes, an undefeated champion vs. a former champion, fighting to become the best in their division. Tonight, there were no catch-weight handicaps, weight class disparities between opponents, or skill level mismatches like we’ve grown immune to in recent months. Tonight, was simply the best fighting the best.
With this career high win, is Keith Thurman the new top dog of the welterweight division? Possibly, at the very least it’s a step in the right direction. IBF Welterweight Champion Kell “Special K” Brook (36-0, 25 KO’s) also beat Shawn Porter, but in an ugly and clinch-infested bout. Thurman did not utilize Brook’s game plan on Shawn Porter and did not constantly clinch all night, opting instead to fight defensively, using movement on the outside to negate Shawn’s punch output, but also pressuring Shawn right back and exchanging power shots with him when Shawn would attempt to bully him. Keith was able to hold his own on the inside with Shawn Porter and bullied him right back. There were very few times in the fight where Thurman actually ran after being hurt, but he just did what he had to do to recover. Surprisingly, Thurman did not move or run as much as everyone expected him to. Thurman stood in the pocket with Porter trading shots more than half of the fight. Porter seemed to do best when he had Keith against the ropes delivering massive body blows, and when he would be able to close the distance by leaping forward with power shots without getting caught on the way in. Make no mistake, Keith Thurman came for the knockout, as did Shawn Porter. Keith especially tried to get Shawn out of there in the championship rounds to no avail. The major improvement Keith could have made in the fight was to use more head movement to avoid those big head shots while being pressured by Shawn Porter.
I wouldn’t recommend that Keith Thurman take on Shawn Porter in an immediate rematch or at all anymore, as there are bigger fish to fry and Shawn Porter is a wild and dangerous fighter. Keith still showed flaws in this fight that need to be corrected, and he should count his blessings and move on from Shawn Porter to a bigger unification fight. Tonight, was a testament that Keith Thurman has a good enough chin to hang on the inside. However, tonight was also a testament that Keith’s knockout power just isn’t there against elite-level opposition. Thurman failed to knock out Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Leonard “The Lion” Bundu, and even Jan “Mr. Sympathicus” Zaveck. It might just be time to drop the “One Time” nickname.
Keith Thurman should focus on landing a unification fight against Kell Brook or WBC Welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia (32-0, 18 KO’s). Unfortunately, I see Danny Garcia attempting to maneuver his way around his mandatory with the help of the WBC, and predictably opting to fight the old lion in former two-time welterweight world champion Andre “The Beast” Berto (31-4, 24 KO’s) or talented, yet undisciplined former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (32-2, 24 KO’s) before fighting Thurman or Brook. Many argue that Danny Garcia is a paper champion and is ripe for the picking, others argue that Danny Garcia has proven himself in the past by upsetting former WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse (37-4, 34 KO’s) and knocking out former unified IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir “King” Khan (31-4, 19 KO’s). What can be mutually agreed on is that Danny Garcia has yet to be tested by a natural or elite welterweight. His only fights at the full welterweight 147 lb. limit have been against an arguably past his best but durable former IBF featherweight and super featherweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (33-4-1, 18 KO’s) and a definitely past his best, over-the-hill former two-division world champion and full-time Showtime boxing analyst Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (35-7, 7 KO’s).
Luckily for Thurman, Kell Brook and WBO Welterweight Champion Jessie “The New Generation” Vargas (27-1, 10 KO’s) will be facing off on Sept. 3rd in a unification match. Jessie Vargas is not considered an elite welterweight either and failed to capture the WBO belt from former two-division world champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KO’s) before being thrown a bone by Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum and allowed to fight for the WBO belt a second time against former Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali (22-1, 13 KO’s). The heavy favorite in this matchup is Kell Brook, who is then expected to negotiate a fight with Keith Thurman for some time in 2017. I do see Kell Brook vs. Keith Thurman as being a legitimately competitive matchup, a chess match, as they are both solid natural welterweights with technical styles and power in both hands.
It is doubtful that 5-time division world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (49-0, 26 KO’s) will come back to face either Keith Thurman or Kell Brook. They are considered too much of a threat because they are in their primes and are natural welterweights. Mayweather however, has trademarked the record (50-0), that record is carved in stone and in TMT marketing plans and the question is when Mayweather will come back for that W. Instead, he will look to keep entertaining the idea of clown shows against UFC fighters for publicity, and will come back to face the least resistance against Danny Garcia and hype up the fight by flaunting Garcia’s undefeated record and past glories. Every day, it seems less likely that former 8-division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KO’s) will take a break from his senatorial duties in the Philippines and return to avenge his loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
With that being said, the winner of a hypothetical matchup between Keith Thurman and Kell Brook should take on someone their own size with equal or greater power/skill like Errol “The Truth” Spence (20-0, 17 KO’s). Errol Spence is the up and coming boogeyman of the 147 lb. division, and faces a solid test in his upcoming IBF eliminator match against Leonard “The Lion” Bundu (33-1-2, 12 KO’s). It’ll be interesting to see how Errol Spence performs against Bundu compared to Keith Thurman who was unable to put away Bundu within 12 rounds, and fought in a very un-entertaining fashion, choosing to circle around the ring and pot-shot all night. If and when Errol Spence disposes of Bundu in KO fashion and becomes the mandatory against Kell Brook, expect Kell Brook and Matchroom Sport CEO Eddie Hearn to attempt to negotiate a step-aside fee with Spence in order to face Keith Thurman and move up to 154 lbs. immediately afterwards if they are victorious against Keith. If Keith fights and beats Brook, then expect Keith to delay the Errol Spence matchup, opting to go after Danny Garcia and unify the belts instead. One thing is clear, the best are not done facing the best and the walls are closing in on the welterweight division, ready to reveal “The Truth.”