By Edward Chaykovsky

IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-0, 25KOs) is backing the man who he unseated for the world title in August of 2014, Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) - who this coming Saturday will challenge Keith Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) for the WBA welterweight title.

In the UK, Brook will be part of the team providing covering for the Thurman vs. Porter showdown. The winner of the contest could very well collide with Brook at some point in 2017 or even this fall.

Brook has been demolishing his opponents as of late, but he had a very tough time with Porter and nicked a close decision over twelve. He traveled over to the United States for that contest and fought Porter before a hostile crowd at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

"I am going to shock you and pick Porter," Brook told Sky Sports. "Thurman was looking seriously good when he came through but he had a few niggles in a couple of fights and then that car crash. He's human, he's not a machine. I think most people are saying Thurman but I can see Porter grinding him down, outworking him over the 12 rounds and nicking it.

"This fight is wicked for the welterweight division and it's great to see people allowing these sort of fighters to fight each other. From what I've seen and heard, Porter is in great form and great spirits. When I fought Porter he was either on my chest or out of reach and that was his plan, to stay away from the shots and be out of range. But if he wanted to get in, he would get in under the guard, but he could be hit.

"The big plus side is he is very, very determined, rough and rugged and is willing to do anything he needs to to win, like come forward and fight. There was no middle ground with Porter - and if there had been, I'd have demolished him. I could definitely tell when I was in there with him that he was the best guy I'd been in there with. He was so hungry and you could tell he was a genuine champion, so I had to take him very seriously, round-by-round."