Thurman, Birmingham Discuss Bond; Prepared For Big Moment

By Jake Donovan

It was a steamy afternoon at St. Pete Boxing Club in springtime 2016 but Keith Thurman’s mind had somehow reverted back a dozen or so years ago. Dressed casually in turquoise shirt and matching sweats for a light workout day, the subject came up of boxers blowing off anytime they’ve ever been hurt in the ring.

“That’s bullsh*t,” Thurman commented to BoxingScene.com while turning his head away from the rest of the intimate crowd that included his longtime no-nonsense trainer Dan Birmingham. “We remember everything. I can tell you every guy that’s ever hurt me in there (points to the ring). Man, I still remember when Chad Dawson (who was a couple of years away from becoming light heavyweight champion at the time) got me. It bugs me to this day.”

Birmingham offers a smirk before offering his succinct thoughts. “Keith, you were 14 f***ing years old and he was about to become a world champion. You’ve grown up and gotten a lot better since then. I promise, I’d tell you if you didn’t. And you know I would.”

The relationship between Thurman and Birmingham is a simple one that works so well, a key component heading into this weekend’s CBS-televised welterweight fight with Shawn Porter at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. One is there to fight and command attention worthy of such accolades. The other is there to make sure he’s fight night ready, at which point he reverts into a role of supporting actor.

It’s the approach that Birmingham has taken with all of his fighters – including longtime clients and former world champions Winky (because… just don’t call him Ronald) Wright and Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy – through his many, many years as a chief second. It’s the approach with which Thurman became familiar when he first walked through the doors as a youth looking to learn the sport, getting his education by working alongside championship talent while soaking in knowledge from world-class coaches.

“Dan has been here before,” Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) noted to BoxingScene.com during a recent interview at his training headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida. “He's been with champions and knows what it's like to develop a world champion. He's not much of a talker. He says what he has to say to get me going. But he's cognizant that the fighters are the ones who are fighting.”

Their relationship and agreement with one another comes in stark contrast to what will stand opposite corner this Saturday as Thurman defends his welterweight title. On the other side of the ring, quintessential gym rat Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) will be as ready as he can possibly be, though mostly letting his fists do the talking.

At least once his father is done with the verbal part.

For as long as Porter has been a boxer, his father Kenny has been as much of a constant in his corner as he’s been in his life. What he’s also become is part of a trend of fathers who tend to stand front line when it comes to interviews and mugging for the cameras, while the sons take the “I just fight who they put in front of me” approach.

It led to Porter capturing a welterweight title, even if his reign was all too brief. It also resulted in his scoring a career best win over Adrien Broner last summer and now landing his biggest fight to date as a pro.

What works for Porter doesn’t necessarily work for Thurman. The same holds true in reverse.

“Kenny and Shawn have a different relationship, same with Angel and Danny Garcia, Ruben and Robert Guerrero as I experienced first-hand for our fight on NBC last year,” observes Thurman. “Maybe it's something with father and son, a little more pride involved. With Kenny and Shawn, apparently they came to an agreement, whether verbally or unspoken - that Shawn's job is to perform and focus on the fight, not to trash talk.

“Kenny agreed to do all of the trash talking - really all of the talking in general - but to take that pressure off of Shawn. But because all of these stories, where it's what Kenny said and not what Shawn said, it takes away the spotlight from the fighter.”

That will never be of any concern for Thurman, although he tends to not command much pre-fight attention to begin with. When those moments arrive, nothing needs to be said amongst his team as to the roles everyone is supposed to play.

“Nobody wants to hear from me… who knows maybe not even my fighters,” Birmingham quips. “I’m just an old hippie. Nobody needs to care about what I say unless it’s between rounds.”

Little to nothing was said by Team Thurman even after the unbeaten welterweight was on the sidelines nursing serious – but not career-threatening – injuries following a car crash in late February. The wounds sustained were severe enough to delay the fight from March 12 to June 25, but never to the point of Thurman or his team members hitting the panic button.

The same cannot be said for the other side. While Porter remained silent on the subject other than wanting to fight again at some point between last June and this weekend, Kenny had plenty to say to the media, including questioning the validity of his injuries and asking for medical reports as proof.

Had the roles been reversed, chances are that Thurman’s side simply would have gone to the gym and awaited a phone call from Al Haymon – adviser to both boxers in Saturday’s bout – for either his next assignment or an update to the present task at hand.

“Going back to boxers remembering everything, I remember when Shawn Porter – who used to spar with us right here at this gym – I remember when he won his welterweight title, we lobbied to Al for a title fight,” recalls Thurman, who held the WBA interim title at the time, while Porter obtained the IBF welterweight strap with a Dec. ’13 win over Devon Alexander. At the time, Kenny Porter felt it wasn't my time to fight for that title.

“We didn’t shoot off to the media, questioning Shawn’s heart or why they wouldn’t give us a shot. I just spoke to Al about it back then. I spoke to him again when this fight came up. I guess Kenny felt like it was now Shawn's time to fight me. So again, we don’t say nothing. Dan and I –we don’t need to do that.”

It’s a relationship that’s worked even long after the passing of Thurman’s first head coach, the late Ben Getty. Birmingham was always in the corner, but willingly took the lead when it became apparent that the pride of Clearwater, Florida would need fight night guidance.

“Dan's watched me become so much more than the kid I was who first walked through that door,” Thurman fondly recalls. “I remember Ben always used to say. ‘There's no such thing as a perfect fighter, but you can always do your best to come as close as humanly possible.’

“Ben helped push me to become more, really without even knowing I was taking his comments personal. He always told me "You’re nothing without your power." I knew he meant it as power being my trump card, but I didn't like hearing it that way. It made me strive to develop my boxing skills more and strive to become a complete fighter.”

To date, it’s led to 26 wins without a loss and a welterweight title reign, coming after a successful amateur career that included seven national titles and a place as a 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate. The best is yet to come, but a lot of what’s already been achieved was motivated by watching greatness in real time and finding a way to mold it into a style of his own.

“I feel extremely proud to be St. Pete's third world champion,” Thurman fondly points out. “I was 14 years alongside Winky Wright. Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy was the undefeated super middleweight champion at the time, I was alongside him all the way up until his first loss and shoulder injury. I always admired those two.

“You had Winky Wright, the undisputed champion (at 154 pounds) who wasn't a power puncher, who had to box and play defense to beat you. Then you had Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy, who was a power puncher and in fact who I believe is stil the single hardest puncher I've ever seen. The heavy bag used to fold where his fist made impact. Seeing those two I always wanted to make myself a hybrid - the ring IQ of Winky and the ferocity of Jeff Lacy. I've watched a lot of film on the all-time greats, mimicking tidbits to add to my style and become the fighter who I am today.”
 
Given the long and rich history of the welterweight division, many viewers – whether casual fans or the sport’s hardcore base – will turn to this weekend’s headliner in search of a new leader in the clubhouse.

It’s been that way ever since longtime pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement last September. It was further magnified when his years-long divisional and pound-for-pound rival Manny Pacquiao exited following his rubber match win over Timothy Bradley Jr. earlier this year.

Thurman raised an excellent point during a recent media conference call that boxing media – even more so than the fans – are in too big of a hurry to crown the next king. What took Mayweather more than a decade to develop in terms of being the game’s very best, boxing “experts” expect the next king to be crowned with the first swing at the plate.

So while Saturday night’s primetime showcase bout won’t immediately fill the void, the 27-year old is well aware of the long-term potential awaiting the winner.

“One way or another, we are on the cusp of a new generation,” Thurman acknowledged to BoxingScene.com. “Manny could come back for a fight. Floyd could come back for a fight. But for a career? It's over, their legacies are all but completed.  Honestly. it's interesting - beautiful from my perspective and interesting from a fan's perspective. Right now you have four welterweight champs, three of whom are undefeated. It's a great moment for where I am in the welterweight division and looking forward to it.

“I always liked space science growing up. For my career, I came up with the analogy that I was a dormant star, but that when I got my time to shine, it would be bright and long-lasting. I really feel like we're coming up on that time. We have that opportunity and the stage is set for me. We just have to get a few more victories and collect all the titles. Then we will be there.”

Once Thurman is there, he knows full and well who will be along for the ride, even if standing behind him rather than alongside for fear of commanding any of the spotlight.

“Whatever comes his way, he’s fully earned it,” Birmingham says of his current star pupil. “My reward is the opportunity to have trained the Winky Wrights, the Jeff Lacys… and now the Keith Thurmans of the world.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2