Porter Plans To Bang Away at Thurman's Ribs, Break His Body

By Edward Chaykovsky

Former IBF world welterweight champion Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) will be looking to punish and break down the body of WBA welterweight beltholder Keith THurman (26-0, 22KOs).

Their long awaited fight is scheduled for June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. They were scheduled to face each other several times in recent months, but the fight continued to get postponed for one reason or another.

Porter has been out of the ring since his decision win over Adrien Broner last June. Thurman will also enter the ring off a lengthy layoff as he last saw action back in July when he stopped Luis Collazo.

Porter has been studying tape on Thurman and realized that he doesn't like to get his to the ribcage or anywhere around his body. Porter feels he avoids working on the inside and looks to stay away at all times. Collazo had Thurman in big trouble after landing a vicious hook to the body.

"That’s another thing, watching him recently, he doesn’t really like to work on the inside and he would much rather hit you from the outside with the right hand, or even attack the body from the outside. We will be looking to make him work on the inside, on the ropes, things like that," Porter told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.

He also plans to test the stamina of Thurman. He won't allow him to get any air and wants to stay very close to him to take away his strengths in every round.

"Looking at Keith, he likes to move and catch guys off balance, and I think that plays into our hands because I have good feet and they’re quick, so I’ll be able to cut off the ring and he won’t have as much room to move or breathe the way he has in the past. That’s one thing we’re really focusing on," Porter said.