by David P. Greisman

There was talk ahead this past Saturday’s fight between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter that the winner would have a better claim to the division in the wake of the retirements of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Thurman topped Porter with a close and entertaining unanimous decision. He’s among those at the head of the pack. But he also knows that it’ll take some time to even try to fill the shoes of the superstars who came before him.

“You got to ride the train, man. Mayweather didn’t become Mayweather overnight,” Thurman said at the post-fight press conference. “I think a major change in Mayweather’s career was when he beat Oscar De La hoya, and he continuously got great fights after that. It was never one fight that made Mayweather. It’s never going to be one fight that makes Keith Thurman. It’s the continuation of fighting at this level, at this pedigree, and coming out on top.”

This was the kind of performance that those involved with Premier Boxing Champions were hoping for, and the kind of performance that promoter Lou DiBella says boxing fans also sought.

“The thing you can hope for here is a great fight and someone walking away to say ‘I’m the guy right now, come and take it from me,’ ” DiBella said while sharing the stage with Thurman. “That’s what he’s saying. You got Danny Garcia with the WBC belt, he wants to take it from him. You got [Errol] Spence coming up. You got the kid in England, Kell Brook, who’s going to fight [Jessie] Vargas. You got all sorts of talent in the division. And I can tell you the guy next to me ain’t afraid to fight anybody, and there are other people who got the same attitude.”

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