Make no mistake, Keith Thurman’s thrilling win over Shawn Porter in a great action fight is more than worthy of a rematch. This welterweight rivalry seems destined to be one fans will be able to revisit – the question is when? We do not want this rematch to take eight long years to come to fruition; as was the case with the return meeting of the epic Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns clash (a legendary fight that stands alone, but Thurman-Porter is worthy of being listed alongside it).
Shawn Porter
Four candidates for Fight Of The Year so far, and we still have five months to go
In a sign of how good a year it has already been for boxing here in 2016, we have at least four absolutely cracking fights being looked at as candidates for winning this year’s FOTY distinction – and as great as these fights have been, we still have some potential thrillers to look forward to in the remaining five months of the year.
So far, fans and experts are agreed how the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter fight, the Orlando Salido-Francisco Vargas fight and the more recent Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz fight are all up there as genuine FOTY candidates. I would like to add to the list the terrific Jamie Conlan-Anthony Nelson fight.
Keith Thurman defeats Shawn Porter
(Photo: Esther Lin/Tom Casino/SHOWTIME) BROOKLYN (June 26, 2016) – Prizefighting returned to CBS on Saturday with a Fight of the Year candidate as undefeated welterweight world champion Keith Thurman edged former world champion Shawn Porter in a close but unanimous decision scored 115-113 by all three ringside judges.
The 12,718 fans in attendance at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the viewers across the U.S. watching the first primetime boxing event on CBS since Muhammed Ali-Leon Spinks in 1978 were treated to a slugfest between two of the brightest stars in boxing’s glamour division.
Thurman vs. Porter: Friends turn foes in Brooklyn
Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman meets ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter this Saturday in primetime on CBS, at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. This long awaited bout is here at last after a drawn out negotiation process that was side-tracked in February due to injury. Brooklyn will definitely be in the house to witness this step in the right direction at 147. This matchup creates much needed separation at the welterweight division that is up for grabs with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on hiatus.
Photos: Keith Thurman 146 vs. Shawn Porter 147 – Weights
Weigh-In Results: Keith Thurman 146 vs. Shawn Porter 147
Jarrett Hurd 153.8 vs. Oscar Molina 154.8
Adam Kownacki 264.2 vs. Jesse Barboza 242.8
Heather Hardy 123.2 vs. Kirstie Simmons 122.8
David Benavidez 168.6 vs. Francy Ntetu 170
Jonathan Alonso 141.6 vs. Brian Jones 142
Regis Prograis 139.8 vs. Luis Florez 140
Josue Vargas 140.8 vs. Ryan Picou 140.8
Nicklaus Flaz 150.6 vs. Mack Babb 150.8
Kell Brook picks Shawn Porter to beat Keith Thurman on Saturday
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is an ideal person to predict this Saturday’s big welterweight clash between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, having been in there with Porter; being the only man to have beaten him. Brook won a very close decision over Porter back in August of 2014, to win the IBF belt he now holds and looks to defend against Jessie Vargas, the WBO champ, in a September unification (that still has not been 100-percent finalized).
Brook scored the biggest win of his career in winning a majority decision over Porter – since then, Brook has been ranked as the number-one welterweight in the world by Ring Magazine as well as a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter by “The Bible of Boxing” – and he now picks Porter to upset Thurman in their WBA title clash.
Thurman-Porter undercard fights
BROOKLYN (June 21, 2016) – The stacked undercard for the highly anticipated Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter welterweight showdown is complete and will feature a pair of popular Brooklyn fighters as heavyweight Adam Kownacki (13-0, 10 KOs) battles hard-hitting Jesse Barboza (11-1-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bout while crowd-pleasing featherweight Heather “The Heat” Hardy (16-0, 4 KOs) takes on Colorado’s Kirstie Simmons (8-1, 2 KOs) in an eight-round contest on Saturday, June 25 from Barclays Center.
The June 25 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® on CBS event, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, is headlined by the world title fight between defending world champion Keith Thurman and former champion Shawn Porter. Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The live telecast will open with an exciting battle between undefeated super welterweight prospects Jarrett Hurd and Oscar Molina.
Sugar Ray Leonard & Thomas Hearns Weigh-In on Thurman vs Porter
“The winner of Thurman-Porter will immediately move into the
welterweight penthouse.” – Leonard
“I know that Porter and Thurman both have the ability to get each other out of there. It’s going to be a matter of who gets to who first.” -Hearns
Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas “Hitman” Hearns might be uniquely qualified to talk about what WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and “Showtime” Shawn Porter are thinking and feeling heading into their battle that pits two men against each other who are in their primes in a highly charged battle for supremacy in the talent-laden welterweight division.
Al Bernstein: Thurman-Porter is a Fans Fight
(Photo credit: Premier Boxing Champions) Hall Of Fame Boxing announcer Al Bernstein calls the June 25 Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter welterweight title match “a fight for the fans.” Al continued, “I call it that because it has all the elements of a match that resonates with boxing fans. It checks all the boxes, both men are in their prime, the contrasting styles in the ring should make it fascinating and both men are highly motivated because they feel this is the most important fight of their careers.”
Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter conference call quotes
Lou DiBella
Thank you for being with us for the Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter Welterweight Championship conference call, SHOWTIME Championship Boxing, on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, to be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Saturday, June 25, live at 9:00 pm Eastern Time, 6:00 pm Pacific Time.
Tickets for the live event are on sale now. They can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 1800-745-3000, or at the box office at the Barclays Center.