DiBella: Thurman vs. Garcia Will Decide The Top Dog at 147

By Miguel Rivera

Only a few days remain before the welterweight unification between WBA champion Keith Thurman and WBC beltholder Danny Garcia. The two boxers will meet on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with CBS broadcasting the contest live.

Since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2015, the boxers in the welterweight division have been battling each other to establish a new king.

Among the upcoming contest at 147, no fight is viewed bigger than Thurman (27-0, 22 KO's) vs. Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs).

Some of the other upcoming welterweight contests include Kell Brook defending his IBF title against Errol Spence in May, and possibly Manny Pacquiao defending his WBO title against Amir Khan in April.

Lou DiBella, who is the head promoter of Thurman-Garcia event, views this particular contest as the big decider to establish the current top man at 147.

"With Mayweather's retirement, the welterweight division has become one of the most exciting in boxing," said DiBella to Jose Sanchez. "You have guys like Thurman and Garcia who are facing each other on Saturday, but there are also fighters like Shawn Porter (Andre) Berto, Spence and Adrien Broner. You can make a list of the top names and you will see that there is a tremendous amount of talent at 147. You can also include Lamont Peterson in there."

"I think [Thurman-Garcia] is the biggest fight in the welterweight division today, because the best fighter in the world is retired. That's why we are looking for the new welterweight king.  think this fight decides for now who is (the best). The winner has the right to say 'I am number one among welters.'"

"But Porter proved that he belongs to be among the handful of fighters at the top of 147. And the winner of the fight between Kell Brook and Errol Spence will also be a factor in that equation. The welterweight division will be very exciting in the coming months."