Thurman: Khan should watch film on Mayweather-Canelo for preparation

thurman111By Dan Ambrose: WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman thinks that the underdog Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) needs to sit down and study tape of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) from three years ago so that he has a better chance of beating him on May 7.

Thurman isn’t ruling out a win for the 29-year-old Khan, but he thinks he’s going to need to fight smart by following the Mayweather blueprint.

read more

Kenny Porter expects Keith Thurman to throw punches while running the opposite direction

thurman8By Tim Fletcher: Former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter’s father/trainer Kenny Porter says he thinks that WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Porter (26-0, 22 KOs) will be on the retreat whenever he throws power shots in their fight on March 12 next month at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Kenny is familiar with Thurman from both the amateurs and pros, and he knows that Thurman prefers to land sneaky power shots rather than standing in the pocket and trading shots. Thurman is always looking to avoid getting hit by his opponents, and he’s not going to stand in the pocket and let his hands go the way some fighters do.

read more

Thurman talks Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury

thurman44By Scott Gilfoid: WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman says he’s not sure who will prevail when/if the big heavyweight champions Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) and WBC talent Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) meet up in a unification fight in the future.

While Thurman is very familiar with Deontay after having seen him fight on a number of occasions, he hasn’t seen enough of the 6’9” Fury to given an accurate appraisal of whether he can get rid of Wilder in a fight. What Thurman can say is Fury wasn’t all that special in his close 12 round decision win over 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko last November in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Wilder and Fury could meet up in either late 2016 or some point in 2017 if they win their next fights. Fury has a rematch against Wladimir that he needs to take care of. Deontay has a mandatory defense due against his #1 WBC challenger Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) that could take place within two to five months.

read more

Thurman: I plan on hurting Porter

thurman7777By Dan Ambrose: In a month from now on March 12, WBA “regular” welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) will be facing what could be the toughest opponent of his career in Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Thurman, 27, doesn’t think that Porter will be able to handle his punching power, and he expects to hurt him constantly. Thurman isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to KO him, but he does feel confident that he’ll be able to put him down on the canvas like he’s done with some of his recent opponents Robert Guerrero and Leonard Bundu. Thurman had them down but he couldn’t KO them.

“The two most recent fights that went 12 rounds were Robert Guerrero and Bundu,” Thurman said to Michelle Joy Phelps from Behind the Gloves.

read more

Thurman wants Danny Garcia after Porter fight

Keith ThurmanBy Dan Ambrose: WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t even gotten past his next opponent Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) and he’s already targeting his next opponent in WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

Thurman, 27, says he wants to collect more belts after the Porter fight, and he wants to face Garcia after this. Thurman is less interested in a unification fight against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, because he wants to focus on fighters that are well known in the U.S. Brook would be an unknown in the States.

read more

Thurman: Canelo is not a difficult fight for Khan

thurman5By Scott Gilfoid: WBA “regular” welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) thinks that Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) took the easier option in facing WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) for his next fight on May 7 rather than agreeing to fight IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook 35-0, 24 KOs) for his title in the summer.

Thurman notes that Canelo has slow hands and feet, and he sees him as an easier option for Khan than Brook, who has a good jab and nice right hand. Thurman thinks Brook moves better than Canelo.

I’m not sure that I agree with Thurman that Khan has taken the easier fight in facing Canelo. I happened to see Brook’s fight against Shawn Porter in 2014, I was totally unimpressed with Brook, especially with the way he held 10 times per round and got away with it due to the referee not stepping in to take points off.

read more

Mosley impressed with Shawn Porter’s punching power

mosley5By Dan Ambrose: After sparring seven rounds with former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) this past week, 44-year-old Shane Mosley came away from the experience very impressed with Porter’s punching power, aggression and overall talent.

Mosley sees the 28-year-old Porter as a very tough challenger for WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) to deal with in their fight on March 12 on Premier Boxing Champions on CBS at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.

read more

Danny Garcia likely to face Thurman-Porter winner

garcia665By Dan Ambrose: Newly crowned WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs) is expected to face the winner of the March 12 fight between WBA welterweight champ Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) and Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), according to Dan Rafael.

The fight is likely part of the Premier Boxing Champions plan. It makes sense for PBC to put Garcia in with the winner of the Thurman-Porter fight because it will create a bigger star than if Al Haymon, the creator of the PBC, lets the champions stay apart.

read more

Hearn says Cotto, Thurman, Garcia and Golovkin are potential candidates for Kell Brook

hearn455By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn whiffed at trying to get Amir Khan for IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook for his summer mega-fight that Brook has been talking about wanting. Brook slipped away and went in the opposite direction towards a big money title shot against WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on May 7 on HBO PPV.

Khan says that Brook turned down an offer for a fight against him. With Khan saying no to the Brook fight, Hearn is now talking about wanting to get one of the following names for Brook for his summer bouts: Danny Garcia, Gennady Golovkin, Keith Thurman or Miguel Cotto.

I’m surprised it’s just those names, because if Hearn widened his list to include a dozen names or so, he’d likely get at least one of them that would be willing to come over to the UK to fight Brook.

read more

Porter’s trainer hopes Thurman brings his hook on March 12

Keith Thurman and Shawn PorterBy Dan Ambrose: Trainer Kenny Porter hopes WBA World welterweight champion Keith Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) brings his hook with him on March 12 and tries to use it against his son Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), because they intend on punishing Thurman with a counter hook. They want to bust up Thurman and bruise him badly.

Kenny expects Thurman to come out trying to throw hooks, because he’ll have watched Porter’s last fight against Adrien Broner last year and saw how Porter was knocked down by a left hook in the 12th round of that contest. Thurman’s favorite weapon is his left hook, and he loves to throw that shot while he’s moving backwards around the ring.

read more