Shawn Porter earns rematch with Keith Thurman with win over Berto; get ready for Super-Fight II

Shawn Porter earns rematch with Keith Thurman with win over Berto; get ready for Super-Fight II

Former welterweight champ Shawn Porter fought like a man possessed last night in overwhelming a game Andre Berto, himself a proud former champ. Of course, with his relentless, thoroughly fan-pleasing style, Porter always fights with passion; but last night’s fight was the key to Porter getting something he has craved since last June: a rematch with the only man he feels has genuinely beaten him, in Keith Thurman.

Thurman and Porter went to war in a great, great action fight last summer, and Porter, having dropped a close 12 round decision, instantly made it clear that he wanted a rematch. With last night’s ninth round stoppage win over Berto, Porter won a final eliminator for the WBC welterweight title Thurman currently holds, along with the WBA belt.

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Welterweight rumblings – Thurman wants Pacquiao, Porter wants Thurman rematch

Welterweight rumblings – Thurman wants Pacquiao, Porter wants Thurman rematch

Arguably (not that too many fans are arguing) the best, most talent-rich weight class today, the welterweight division of right now is capable of throwing up some fantastic match-ups. We’ve already got this month’s Shawn Porter-Andre Berto non-title showdown (all but guaranteed to be a thrilling action affair) and we’ve got the big IBF welterweight title fight collision between champ Kell Brook and unbeaten, some say star of the future, Errol Spence Jr.

But there could be more sizzlers to come. Keith Thurman, the recently crowned WBA/WBC 147 pound king, has called for a Manny Pacquiao fight. No, this doesn’t mean the fight will happen, but at least “One Time” is sticking to his routine of asking for the big match-ups. Thurman has plenty of options; what with Porter, who pushed Thurman hard in that great, great fight last summer, saying he lists this rematch as a priority, above a second go at Brook.

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Make way for the new stars: Lomachenko, Crawford, Thurman are today’s pound-for-pound best

Make way for the new stars: Lomachenko, Crawford, Thurman are today's pound-for-pound best

Manny Pacquiao’s star is fading, Andre Ward has been labelled dull by fight fans so many times he has stopped caring, and Sergey Kovalev may well see himself closely, narrowly outboxed and outscored by S.O.G in their June return. So who today is deserving of the mythical but also lofty title of pound-for-pound king?

It seems we have to make way for the new guard, for the news stars: Vasyl Lomachenko, the pick for many even before this past weekend’s utter dismantling of a very good fighter in Jason Sosa, and Terence Crawford, he of the speed, accuracy and power, and also Keith Thurman, a throwback in terms of constantly seeking out the very best opposition and thus far beating them.

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Thurman-Garcia II? Angel takes a U-Turn, says the rematch with “Ponytail” will happen

Thurman-Garcia II? Angel takes a U-Turn, says the rematch with “Ponytail” will happen

Do fans really want to see a return meeting between welterweight stars Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia? In truth, the clash the two unbeaten warriors engaged in this past Saturday was no classic – it was no dud, but at the same time, it was no Leonard-Hearns.

And after the split decision went “One Time’s” way, Angel Garcia, trainer and of course pop of Danny, said he was “disgusted” with both the official verdict that saw his son lose his WBC belt and unbeaten record, and the sport of boxing itself. Angel, in his own inimitable way, said he wanted Danny to call it quits and retire. No-one really believed the once-beaten Philly talent would actually hang ’em up, and now, via a video Angel has posted (big thanks to Bad Left Hook) Garcia Snr has claimed revenge will be exacted in a return bout.

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Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia ratings stats on CBS

Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia ratings stats on CBS

– The peak audience for Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING ON CBS broadcast of Thurman vs. Garcia reached 5.1 million viewers, the largest audience for a primetime boxing broadcast since 1998 and up 30 percent over last June’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING ON CBS primetime broadcast of Thurman vs. Porter. Last Saturday’s peak audience came during the final round of the 12-round main event bout.

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WBC News: The Mandatory Contender

WBC News: The Mandatory Contender

By Mauricio Sulaiman: What a wonderful week it was for boxing and the WBC. Shinsuke Yamanaka defended his WBC bantamweight title for the 12th time with an impressive seventh-round TKO in Japan. Mexican “Churritos” Hernandez traveled to Thailand and won the vacant WBC flyweight title via third-round TKO. WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew knocked out David Haye in a heavyweight fight. Heather Hardy defended her WBC International title, representing women at a major event. Erickson Lubin became a mandatory contender at super welterweight by knocking out Jorge Cota, and Keith Thurman unified the welterweight division with a split decision win over Danny Garcia.

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Does Angel Garcia really want Danny to retire?

Does Angel Garcia really want Danny to retire?

As fans know, Danny Garcia lost both his WBC welterweight title and his unbeaten record on Saturday night in New York, when he was beaten by Keith Thurman via 12 round split decision. And while most people had no argument with the decision going Thurman’s way, Angel Garcia, Danny’s father and head trainer, told the media at the post fight presser that he is “disgusted with the decision” and that he is “disgusted with boxing right now.”

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Kell Brook wants Thurman after Spence fight, wants to unify the welterweight titles

Kell Brook wants Thurman after Spence fight, wants to unify the welterweight titles

After bulking up to middleweight for his unsuccessful challenge of the feared Gennady Golovkin, many people felt Kell Brook’s welterweight days were well and truly behind him. Maybe, had the Sheffield man beaten GGG last September, he would indeed have vacated his IBF 147 pound crown. But things didn’t work out that way and Brook, deciding he had “worked far too hard to give up the belt,” is now getting ready to defend against mandatory challenger, the classy and unbeaten Errol Spence Jr.

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What next for Keith Thurman?

What next for Keith Thurman?

Before last night’s big welterweight unification fight between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, a lot of people said the winner would emerge as THE best welterweight in the world today. For two or three rounds last night, the opening three, Thurman looked just that: the best 147-pounder out there today. Thurman looked like a beast with his effective attacks, launched on the naturally smaller Garcia.

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