By Keith Idec
Shawn Porter is confident his experience has prepared him better than Keith Thurman for their nationally televised welterweight title fight March 12.
The 28-year-old Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), of Akron, Ohio, has defeated former welterweight champions Adrien Broner, Paulie Malignaggi and Devon Alexander in three of his past five fights. He also suffered his lone defeat during that stretch, a 12-round majority decision to unbeaten IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook.
The 27-year-old Thurman, meanwhile, has beaten ex-welterweight champion Luis Collazo, former four-division champion Robert Guerrero, Leonard Bundu, Julio Diaz and Jesus Soto Karass in his past five fights. Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs), of Clearwater, Florida, also knocked out Argentina’s Diego Chaves in the 10th round of the bout before he stopped Karass in the ninth round.
“I feel the talent and the skills I’ve been up against are more than he’s been up against,” Porter told BoxingScene.com. “I’ve fought some guys in the past who had tremendous hearts and he hasn’t been up against anything like that. It’s very possible once we get into the deeper rounds, deep waters, he’s going to have some questions that he may not have had answered against guys he’s fought that I have answered fighting other guys. So this is going to be a good experience. A lot of things I’ve been up against, he hasn’t been up against.”
CBS will televise the Thurman-Porter fight in prime time from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.