By Edward Chaykovsky
According to Kenny Porter, father and trainer of former IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter, his son overwhelmed current WBA titleholder Keith Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) during training sessions when the two fighters were sparring and working together.
The former training partners will now collide in of the bigger and more anticipated fights of the year. Their showdown has been brewing since last year.
Thurman vs. Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) takes place on Saturday, June 25 in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Kenny says Thurman quit during a sparring session, was unable to keep up with their training routines and faded under the pressure.
Thurman has denied those claims and promised to get payback for Kenny's words by knocking Shawn out in their match. Kenny continues to maintain that his version of the events is what actually took place during that particular training camp.
“Keith was not willing to trade blows and punches with Shawn,” Kenny Porter said to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “Keith knows how hard I train, it’s not a war or words, it’s just speaking the truth. He wasn’t able to keep up with our training sessions, he wasn’t keeping up with sparring, there were days he didn’t come. He didn’t keep up with the track workouts, there were days he didn’t come. He didn’t keep up with the swim workouts, there were days he didn’t come. We’re still doing those things, Keith.”
The winner of the contest may move forward to a very lucrative fall opportunity against WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia, the winner of the IBF/WBO unification between Jessie Vargas and Kell Brook, or the possibility of getting in position to face the retired pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. - who continues to hint at a possible comeback in the fall.
