Thurman: Look at What Broner and Brook Did - I'll Catch Porter!

By Edward Chaykovsky

WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) is pretty confident that he will land his power shots on former IBF beltholder Shawn Porter (26-1, 16KOs).

Porter will challenge Thurman for his title in a CBS televised main event from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The fight was delayed several times before they finally came to terms on the date. The fight was scheduled to take place earlier this year, but pushed back after Thurman was involved in a car accident.

Porter has been out of the ring since last June's twelve round decision win over Adrien Broner at a catch-weight of 144-pounds, while Thurman has been out since last July after stopping former champion Luis Collazo.

Thurman has studied a lot of tape on Porter. He saw a lot of flaws in Porter's decision loss to Kell Brook in the fall of 2014, which saw the Sheffield fighter claim the IBF crown. He also saw holes in the fight with Broner, who dropped Porter in the twelfth and final round.

What separates the two boxers? Thurman believes his skills will lead him to victory. He wasn't impressed with Porter's victories over Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi - as Thurman doesn't consider either to be a true welterweight fighter.

“Looking at the film, Shawn Porter got hit by one-twos by Kell Brook, and he got caught by left hooks from Adrien Broner,” Thurman said to Premier Boxing Champions. “So really, what I’ve seen is that Shawn Porter is there to be hit, and if he’s there to be hit by Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, then he’s guaranteed not to be able to go 12 rounds with me.”

“Kell Brook was skillful, whereas Shawn Porter was straight physical. I think that Shawn thought he was going to be able to physically beat [Brook] the same way he did Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi, but neither of those fighters were full welterweights, and neither had the size or the strength that Kell Brook has.

“Sometimes a man is physically strong and the other guy can’t do anything about it. But the only reason he can’t do anything about it is that he doesn’t possess the skills to take away [his opponent’s] strength. Shawn fought a very hard, very good fight against Brook, but at the end of the day, as Floyd Mayweather says, skills pay the bills. Shawn fought a very hard, very good fight against [Kell] Brook, but at the end of the day, as Floyd Mayweather says, skills pay the bills.” 147-pound world champion Keith Thurman, on upcoming opponent Shawn Porter

“You can be physically strong and tough, which are attributes that a champion needs, but you always need to be skillful in the way that you attack,” Thurman said. “I believe that is what separated Kell Brook from Shawn Porter that night, and it’s the same thing that’s going to separate me from Shawn Porter on June 25.”