Boxing commentator Shawn Porter expects Keith Thurman to defeat the younger and more active Tim Tszyu on March 30th in their headliner on Amazon Prime PPV.
Porter thinks Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) has the power, mobility, and skills to defeat Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs). Thurman is a good fighter, but he only fought three quality fighters during his long career – Manny Pacquiao, Porter, and Danny Garcia. The rest were so-so.
Danny Garcia was never a true welterweight, so Thurman’s win over him wasn’t a big deal. Porter was more of a gatekeeper than a championship-level fighter, and Pacquiao was 40 when Thurman lost to him.
Porter won two world titles against a washed Devon Alexander and a smallish Danny Garcia, who never belonged at 147. Thurman’s win over Porter doesn’t prove he could hold his own against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or a prime Errol Spence Jr.
Shawn has questions about the 35-year-old Thurman’s inactivity rather than his age. He’s fought just once since 2019, beating Mario Barrios, and he’s not in the same league as Tszyu.
Thurman looking good against Barrios doesn’t translate to him doing the same thing against Tszyu, especially with Keith coming off another two-year layoff.
Some would argue that Porter is a little biased in favor of Thurman because he’s from his era, and he lost to him. When you get an older timer comparing fighters from their generation, it’s only natural for them to lean towards the guys from their time.
Thurman’s Superior Style
“You look at what Tim Tszyu has done in one year. Three fights in one year, which at this level, you don’t see very often,” said boxing expert Shakur Porter to K.O. Artist Sports, analyzing the March 30th fight between WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and Keith Thurman.
“The other part about that is you see the inactivity of Keith Thurman, and you play the numbers based on that,” Porter continued. “I don’t look at that. I look at styles make fights, and I know whose style is superior.
“I think the feet and the thing that people have forgotten about, the power of Keith Thurman. I don’t care how old you get. Paulie [Malignaggi] said that you’ll be in camp as an older fighter, and you’ll get up, and you’ll be like, ‘I don’t feel like doing it,’ and that mindset will set in, and it’ll destroy you.
“The last thing that goes is the power. That’s what they always say. Like Keith said on stage. ‘If anything, I’m fresh. I’ve been out, but I’ve been preserving myself. I may not have wanted to stay out this long, but I’ve been preserving myself.’ And on top of that, the last thing that goes is the power.
Tszyu With Stamina Advantage
“If anything, the longer the fight goes, it may play into the hands of Tim Tszyu. Tim doesn’t usually slow down, but I just think that what we know about both guys. We got a fighter that will be very patient or come straight at you. That’s Tim Tszyu.
“You’ve got another fighter that is always patient, that is going to wait for the right shots at the right time, and doesn’t really waste energy outside of the movement he uses, and that’s Keith Thurman.
“The movement sets up the punches and upsets the power. What you can say about Keith is who has caught him? If you look at the few times, he’s been hit to the body. Cool, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he needed to do,” said Porter.
Thurman has been hurt in these fights:
- Diego Chaves
- Manny Pacquiao
- Josesito Lopez
- Luis Collazo
As this writer said, Thurman’s resume is too weak to give credit for not getting hurt more and likely knocked out. If Thurman had fought Terence Crawford, Errol Spence, or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, he likely would have been hurt and knocked out.
Those three are vastly superior to any of the fighters Thurman has fought during his career. Pacquiao was a great talent, but he was 40 when Thurman fought him, and he was able to still defeat him. That says a lot about Thurman.
“You look at Manny [Pacquiao] putting him down in the first round. Cool, but he went on and fought the whole fight [and lost to the 40-year-old Pacquiao]. So, who can truly catch Keith? We’ll see, but I think it’s going to be a super fun fight to watch,” said Porter.
Thurman is likely going to look very old against Tszyu and get exposed by him, and his lost won’t be due to age. It’ll be due to Tszyu being a better fighter than him and would have beaten him at any point in his career.
Thurman can’t take it to the body, and Tszyu will take advantage of that weakness on March 30th, provided the contest takes place without being canceled due to injury or problems with the event.
