Porter says he is bigger than a rematch with Keith Thurman
Back on June 25, 2016 Shawn “Showtime” Porter (31-3-1, 17 KO’s) staged a memorable fight with Keith “One Time” Thurman (29-1, 22 KO’s). There in the belly of the Brooklyn Barclay’s Center, they went to war for twelve grueling rounds. Going into the bout, Thurman was undefeated and held the WBA world welterweight title. So, it was not shocking to hear when he got the nod on the scorecards of the razor-thin fight.
In his very next fight, Thurman beat Danny “Swift” Garcia (36-3, 21 KO’s) and took his WBC world welterweight title. At the point that he toppled the undefeated Garcia, One Time was widely viewed as the man to beat in the division. Sadly, due to injuries, marriage and personal issues, Thurman all but disappeared from the sport. Almost two solid years passed before he hopped back in the ring with Josesito Lopez (38-8, 21 KO’s).
GOT TO BE DOING BETTER THAN THIS!
In his absence however, the division moved on and Thurman’s name value seriously lost its luster. He went from being a top dog champion to a top contender none of the champions will even talk about. In fact, even a non-champion such as Porter would not consider running a rematch back with One Time. On a recent episode of the Porter Way Podcast, Showtime gave further justification for his standpoint.
“I specifically told him I don’t want to fight Keith Thurman! I just feel like he has been out of the mix too long, and I’ll be honest, I think that he is looking for a money grab. At some point, he is going to get backed up and there is going to be no one for him to fight because he is not worthy of fighting a champion and he doesn’t want to fight anybody like a Josesito Lopez, or anybody like that that’s not going to get him the money that he wants.
So he is right there in the middle of it all, where he’s not there to fight anybody who’s got a belt, that would be me, and not there to fight anyone who can’t get him the money that he wants and the only one that can get him the money that he wants would be me. And so I know at some point he is going to stop screaming Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr because they’re not going to want to fight him. And then he is going to start trying to come my way.
I been down that road, that was 2016. Its four years later and I have done nothing but continue to go up and progress and I think that he has not done that. And I think with that being said, this can’t be the last door that you’re knocking on because you feel like it’s the only one for you.”
REALITY CHECK
From the way that Porter is talking, it will continue to be a tough road for Thurman finding another top flight fight soon. The “what have you done lately” culture of boxing ensured that One Time’s extended hiatus away would cost him greatly. Showtime’s recent snubbing of a potential dust-up is simply further proof.
Meanwhile, even with two more recorded losses, Porter has once again worked himself into position for a title shot. More than just one, Porter is the #1 welterweight in the WBC and WBO rankings and #2 with the IBF. With these standings, it’s not just bluster when Showtime says he does not have to play games with Thurman. Given the cold reality check, it will be interesting to see who Thurman can pen a fight with next.
By: Bakari Simpson
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