Porter Advises Thurman To Move Up To 154
Shawn Porter has urged Keith Thurman to move up to 154 pounds and rejuvenate his career.
Thurman is a former unified welterweight champion having held the WBA and WBC titles. Although that may have been the case, One Time’s career has taken a nose dive since then.
A combination of inactivity and injuries has resulted in the fighter only having had three bouts in three years. His last fight was a unanimous-decision win over Mario Barrios in 2022.
And prior to that, Keith suffered the first loss of his career when he lost a decision to Manny Pacquiao. That was a major setback since the younger and fresher Thurman was seen as someone who could have sent an aging Manny into retirement.
Although that may have been the case, Thurman was linked with a big fight against Errol Spence Jr. at 154. However, the latter chose to face Terence Crawford for the undisputed welterweight championship of the world. So now Porter has advised Keith to move up to junior welterweight to take on some of the other big-name fighters.
Porter On Thurman
“I’m an advocate for my dude, I want to see him come back. You got to let go of ’47. Gotta let it go. You gotta move up to 154. Think about it. He’s 35, at the least 34, but we’re the same age, so he’s 35 years old, probably going on 36, that’s just too long and you’re not a little man. You’re not Manny Pacquiao coming up to ’47. You’re bringing yourself down to ’47. You can’t do it no more. Move up to ’54 and get back in the ring. That’s all I got to say,” Porter
Thurman’s Reality
Nevertheless, Keith has to ultimately question his motivations for fighting. A world title shot appears unlikely since Thurman no longer attracts the same buzz that he once did which made him the ‘One Time’ Thurman with explosive knockouts.
However, Thurman is known for being one of the best talkers in the sport. And that could go someway in him securing a few more big fights.
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