By Jim Maltzman: Former welterweight champions Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman and ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter is in the works for the fall in what could be a massive fight. This will be a tough fight for Thurman to take, given that he’s been out of the ring for almost two years.
Mike Coppinger was first on the news of this terrific fight. Thurman and Porter are both with Premier Boxing Champions, making this an easy one to put together.
Former WBA/WBC 147-lb champion Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) defeated Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) by a narrow 12 round unanimous decision in June 2016, winning by a 115-113 x 3 score.
Porter wanted a rematch with Thurman after the defeat, but he wasn’t interested until now. This is a 50-50 fight right now, as both guys have been dealing with inactivity due to the pandemic.
Thurman vs. Porter II isn’t quite as big as the August 21 fight between Errol Spence and Manny Pacquiao, but it’s still an excellent match-up for 2021.
Porter and Thurman have been trying to get important fights against Pacquiao, Spence, and WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford but they’ve been unable to.
Maybe things can change after the smoke clears from the Thurman-Porter II match. If not, one alternative would be for the winner of the fight to take on Yordenis Ugas.
The winner of the Thurman vs. Porter 2 fight will pressure IBF/WBC champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence to give them a title shot.
Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) had problems with Thurman’s quick hands, power, and mobility in their fight five years ago in 2016. Thurman’s movement, his left hook, and skills gave Porter problems.
In the championship rounds, Porter made it close by coming on to win rounds. Thurman fought his fight at times by backing up against the ropes and encouraging Porter to come forward to exchange.
If the fight with Porter gets made, Thurman, 32, will be coming off a long two-year layoff after losing to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019. Thurman looked good in a workout video on Tuesday, showing the speed and power he’s always possessed.
He still needs to drop a few pounds, but not much. Thurman has already dropped a lot of weight that he put on during the lockdown, and he should have no problems getting in top shape by the fall to battle Porter.
Spence has been reluctant to fight Thurman because he’s bitter about being bypassed for a world title shot when ‘One Time’ held the WBA title between 2015 and 2017.
Porter is coming off a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision victory over Sebastian Formella last August. It was more of a stay busy fight for Porter, who has been trying ever since to get a match against Terence Crawford with no luck.
Sources: A rematch between former welterweight champions Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter is being discussed for the fall. Their 2016 meeting was an excellent fight, one of the best of the year. Thurman retained his 147-pound title with a close decision victory. Both with PBC,” said @MikeCoppinger.