By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Keith Thurman’s performance against Shawn Porter naturally will be compared to how Kell Brook beat Porter.

That’s fine by Thurman, who would like to box Brook while trying to become the sport’s undisputed welterweight champion. Brook’s majority-decision victory over Porter in August 2014 impressed Thurman, but the undefeated WBA welterweight title-holder believes Brook still has plenty to prove before the unbeaten British champion is considered the top 147-pound performer in boxing.

“I like Kell Brook,” Thurman said recently. “I like him a lot, man. I like his skill set. The thing is he’s so mysterious. Why is Kell Brook so mysterious? Because he hasn’t fought American fighters. We judge people off of the fighters we know they’ve beaten. He’s beaten one of them that we know, one I’m about to face, who is a great fighter. So obviously Kell Brook must be a great fighter.

“But at the end of the day, the question is still, ‘How great is he, really?’ They call him, ‘Special.’ How special is he? Is he really special? I don’t know. He’s got something special. We just don’t know how special.”

Though negotiations have not yet resulted in signed contracts, it’s probable Brook, the IBF welterweight champ, will battle WBO 147-pound champ Jessie Vargas late this summer in Sheffield, England, Brook’s hometown. If Las Vegas’ Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs) beats Brook (36-0, 25 KOs), Thurman would be interested in fighting Vargas as well.

“Jessie Vargas, a great fight,” Thurman said. “A legit welterweight, you know, great resume, current champion. He’s a worthy opponent. He’s got tons of fights. He’s been on the scene for a long time. We haven’t gotten to see him fight people that I’d like to see him fight. And that’s a fight that I would take as well.”

Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs), of Clearwater, Florida, is scheduled to defend his WBA championship against Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), of Akron, Ohio, on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (CBS).

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.