After a lengthy wait, Thurman-Porter fight finalized
After months of speculation, the highly anticipated match between top-tier welterweights Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter has been finalized.
The bout will be for Thurman’s WBA 147-pound title and will take place March 12 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It will air on CBS.
After Porter put on an impressive showing to defeat Adrien Broner in June and Thurman dispatched Luis Collazo in July, discussions about the two young talents squaring off began to take hold.
Several dates and locations were tossed around but none of them stuck. In September, the buzz around the fight began to heat up once again when both were seen at Floyd Mayweather’s victory over Andre Berto in Las Vegas. Both seemed open to the fight – with Shawn and his father Kenny being extremely vocal about wanting the fight – as multiple interviews and photo ops between the two popped up on a number of boxing outlets.
A date of Dec. 12 emerged with the bout airing on Showtime, but Kenny Porter shot down those rumors by saying that he had yet to receive a contract for the proposed date. While Team Porter continued its media assault, Thurman decided to remain silent on the situation, which led to concern that he was no longer interested in the fight.
Before the close of 2015, a February date in Las Vegas was suggested. But, again, nothing came of it. But now, finally, the fight has been confirmed and boxing fans will get to see Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) take on Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) with the future of the division at stake.
Tickets for the fight are currently on sale and priced at $300, $150, $75 and $35.
