By Ryan Burton
The long awaited showdown between WBA welterweight champion Keith "One Time" Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) and former IBF champion Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) is finally set for March 12th and will air on free network channel CBS. The fight takes place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
Thurman and Porter recently met with the press to announce their fight and one of the interesting aspects of the scrap is the two boxers history. They have known each other since their amateur days and have sparred in the pro ranks.
Porter likes to be an aggressive fighter and bully his opponents. I asked Thurman if he might have to try to use Porter's aggressiveness against him.
"We might have to if he comes out with too much aggression," Thurman told BoxingScene.com. "If he comes out with too much aggression I might have to use my own aggression to tell him back up, back up boy! I ain't stepping back and I ain't stepping down. You need to relocate and rethink. You ain't coming in and running in on me."
The original plan was for the fight to take place in December, but the negotiations dragged out for quite a while and the tentative date was moved back several times for a variety of different reasons. Both Porter and Thurman have wanted this showdown for a long time.
"This is a great fight man. He has so much potential. He has only lost to one fighter, an undefeated fighter (Kell Brook), a champion. Obviously he wants to prove himself. After getting knocked down the ladder they want to go back up the ladder and they have to go through your boy Keith "One Time" Thurman," said Thurman.
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