by David P. Greisman
The highly anticipated collision between welterweights Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter won’t be taking place at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on March 5.
That’s where and when TGB Promotions — one of the promoters working regularly on shows involving fighters signed with adviser and “Premier Boxing Champions” founder Al Haymon — wanted the card to be.
But then the Ultimate Fighting Championship put in a request for UFC 197 to be at that place on that day, a huge card that is reported to have one big star, Conor McGregor, fighting Rafael dos Anjos in the main event while Holly Holm, the woman who knocked out Ronda Rousey, would take on Miesha Tate in a co-feature, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
That effectively nudged Thurman-Porter elsewhere. No announcement has been made yet about where and when.
TGB’s initial request for March 5 was removed from the commission’s agenda for its meeting on Jan. 12. TGB was granted a March 12 date at the Palms Hotel and Casino for a date on Showtime, but that venue is much smaller and would presumably not be for Thurman-Porter.
A fight between the two young 147-pounders has been talked about for some time. When it finally looked as if it was likely to happen next, Porter and his father/trainer, Kenny, took to calling out Thurman, who they claimed had gone missing and was avoiding them.
Thurman, 27, is 26-0 with 22 KOs and last fought in July, stopping Luis Collazo in seven rounds. Porter, 28, is 26-1-1 with 16 KOs. The former titleholder has won two straight since dropping a majority decision and his belt to Kell Brook in 2014. He stopped Erick Bone in five rounds in March, then outpointed Adrien Broner last June.
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