Thurman: If I See Damage, I Won't Hesitate in Ending Porter Early

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Keith Thurman will soon stand face to face with Shawn Porter at a kickoff press conference.

And it’ll shock precisely no one to hear that a guy nicknamed “One Time” is pretty confident that he’ll emerge the winner when the two men finally get together on June 25 at the Barclays Center.

But it’s not just a successful first defense of a WBA welterweight title that Thurman is after.

Rather, the 27-year-old is seeking to break new ground when it comes to beating his man.

“Whenever I fight an opponent that I personally know has never been stopped in his professional career, that always seems like a challenge to me,” Thurman said. “We know that I am a puncher and I enjoy getting the KO and I enjoy stopping people. My nickname is ‘One Time’ for a reason, so I am looking forward to putting on a great performance.”

Thurman was elevated to top-tier champion upon the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr., who left a significant 147-pound power vacuum when he hung up his gloves last September. Still, he’s listed just seventh in the division by the Independent World Boxing Rankings, which list Porter two slots above him and Porter’s lone professional conqueror – Kell Brook – two spots higher at No. 3.

In fact, it’s Brook’s performance on Aug. 16, 2014 – when he took a majority decision and Porter’s IBF title belt – that Thurman is paying particular attention to as he looks to climb the ladder.

“Kell Brook beat Shawn but he wasn’t active in the early rounds and it wasn’t much of a spectacular victory in my opinion,” he said. “But he did start to separate himself from Shawn and it started to be clear to the spectators and the judges and they gave Kell Brook the fight.

“I think he was more accurate and what I’ve learned is that Shawn can tend to throw volume punches and not focus on accuracy. He tends to charge in, not focusing on the distance, and then sometimes smothering himself which makes his punches less effective. The one thing Kell Brook was able to do was make his punches throughout the rounds more effective.”

Porter has fought twice since, defeating Erick Bone (KO 5) and Adrien Broner (UD 12).

Thurman, meanwhile, has been on an injury-prompted shelf since handling Luis Collazo last summer.

The Porter fight was initially scheduled for March 12, but got pushed back after a car accident.

“I believe that Shawn is very skilled, we both have tons of fights in the amateurs, been in many national tournaments, competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials,” Thurman said. “But the one thing Shawn Porter doesn’t have, in my opinion, is the accuracy. And I am going to use my defense in the way that Kell Brook used his defense to negate Shawn Porter’s offense. I’m going to use my accuracy mixed in with my speed and my power and hopefully deal damage, and if we see damage dealt then we will not hesitate to make sure that the show ends early.”

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This week’s title-fight schedule:

WEDNESDAY
WBA super featherweight title -- Tokyo, Japan
Takashi Uchiyama (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Jezreel Corrales (No. 1 WBA/No. 19 IWBR)
Uchiyama (24-0-1, 20 KO): Twelfth title defense; Nine defenses by KO/TKO (57 rounds)
Corrales (19-1, 7 KO): First title fight; Unbeaten since second pro fight (18-0, 7 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Corrales has been on a nice roll for seven years, but he’s fighting a guy who’ll quickly illustrate the difference between Panama’s best and the world’s best. Uchiyama in 9

WBA super flyweight title -- Tokyo, Japan
Kohei Kono (champion/No. 7 IWBR) vs. Inthanon Sithchamuang (No. 7 WBA/No. 55 IWBR)
Kono (31-8-1, 13 KO): Third title defense; Held WBA title in 2012-13 (zero defenses)
Sithchamuang (28-7-1, 17 KO): First title fight; Sixth fight outside Thailand (0-5, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: The Thai veteran has been around the block in his own country but has never been able to maintain success when he’s crossed international lines. It can’t be coincidence. Kono by decision

WBA light flyweight title – Tokyo, Japan
Ryoichi Taguchi (champion/No. 11 IWBR) vs. Juan Jose Landaeta (No. 7 WBA/No. 27 IWBR)
Taguchi (23-2-1, 10 KO): Third title defense; Fourth 12-round fight (3-0, 2 KO)
Landaeta (27-8-1, 21 KO): Fourth title fight (0-3); Fifth fight in Japan (0-4, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: The challenger is 37 years old, has never won in Japan and has fallen short in three previous title tries. Yet for some reason, it feels like this’ll be his time. Landaeta in 6

FRIDAY
IBO welterweight title – Limpopo, South Africa
Tsiko Mulovhedzi (champion/No. 60 IWBR) vs. Jesus Gurrola (unranked IBO/unranked IWBR)
Mulovhedzi (10-7-3, 6 KO): First title fight; Unbeaten since 2011 (6-0, 4 KO)
Gurrola (21-7-3, 9 KO): First title fight; Lost three times in last five fights
Fitzbitz says: Given the glamour of the welterweight division, it’s pretty difficult to take this seriously as a world title fight. That said, Mulovhedzi is on a roll that should continue. Mulovhedzi in 8

IBO super flyweight title – Limpopo, South Africa
Gideon Buthelezi (champion/No. 12 IWBR) vs. Diego Luis Pichardo Liriano (No. 32 IBO/No. 29 IWBR) Buthelezi (16-5, 4 KO): First title defense; Held IBO titles at 105, 108 and 115 pounds
Liriano (16-7-1, 3 KO): First title fight; Second fight outside Argentina (0-1, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Buthelezi is no one’s second coming of any three-division champion, but a 30-year-old slap hitter making a globe-trotting trip isn’t likely to make him look bad. Buthelezi by decision

SATURDAY
IBF super middleweight title -- Washington, D.C.
James DeGale (champion/No. 3 IWBR) vs. Rogelio Medina (No. 3 IBF/No. 30 IWBR)
DeGale (22-1, 14 KO): Second title defense; Fifth fight outside United Kingdom (4-0, 2 KO)
Medina (36-6, 30 KO): First title fight; Fourteen straight wins by KO/TKO (33 rounds)
Fitzbitz says: The Mexican is rugged and dangerous – as he proved against J’Leon Love – but he’s fallen short on the top level far more times, and is far more likely to do so again here. DeGale in 8

WBC super middleweight title -- Washington, D.C.
Badou Jack (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Lucian Bute (No. 7 WBC/No. 11 IWBR)
Jack (20-1-1, 12 KO): Second title defense; Third 12-round fight (2-0, 0 KO)
Bute (32-3, 25 KO): Thirteenth title fight (10-2); Three losses in five fights since 30-0 start
Fitzbitz says: It’s not preposterous to think a guy as accomplished as Bute would handle a guy who was erased by Derek Edwards. Call this one a hunch that the old guy’s got one big one left. Bute in 9 

Last week’s picks: 4-0 (WIN: Golovkin, Cuadras, Gonzalez, Donaire)
2016 picks record: 24-5 (82.7 percent)
Overall picks record: 756-253 (74.9 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.