Thurman: Ask Danny Garcia's 'Daddy' If He'll Fight A Big Dog

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Keith Thurman would love to fight Danny Garcia if Thurman beats Shawn Porter on June 25 in Brooklyn.

The unbeaten WBA welterweight champion isn’t so sure the feeling is mutual.

“To be honest, you’ve gotta ask his daddy,” Thurman said, referring to Garcia’s outspoken father/trainer, Angel Garcia. “To get real answers, you’ve gotta ask his daddy.”

Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs), of Clearwater, Florida, was in Manhattan on Tuesday to promote his 12-round fight against Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), a former IBF welterweight champ from Akron, Ohio. The Thurman-Porter bout will be televised live by CBS in prime time from Barclays Center (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

The 27-year-old Thurman realizes beating the 28-year-old Porter will be difficult, but would like to fight Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs) in his following fight if he wins.

“Obviously we’ve got Shawn Porter to deal with, right?,” Thurman said. “Then you have Danny Garcia. … I was there when he got the green belt. I kind of like the way that green belt looks, you know? And I’m the guy who always talks about people coming up from 140, wanting to mess around with 147s. You wanna be a dog, fight a big dog? So he’s one of the dogs on the list. Plus, for me this year, my goal, my future, the way I envision myself, is to have two titles by the end of this year.”

Philadelphia’s Garcia defeated former four-division champion Robert Guerrero by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant WBC welterweight title in his last fight, a 12-rounder January 23 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Thurman previously dominated Guerrero (33-4-1, 18 KOs, 2 NC) on his way to a 12-round unanimous-decision victory in March 2015 in Las Vegas.

Garcia, 28, has been criticized for facing mostly safe opposition since his impressive victory over favored Lucas Matthysse (37-4, 34 KOs, 1 NC) in their 12-rounder on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Canelo Alvarez undercard in September 2013 in Las Vegas.

“I’m gonna be honest,” Thurman said. “I think Shawn Porter can beat Garcia. I think I can beat Garcia. I think there’s at least five welterweights that can beat Danny Garcia. So if he wants to go ahead and tread lightly, like he’s treading on thin ice, you know, I ain’t gonna be mad at him. I’ll just talk about him.”

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.