By: Hans Themistode
With a close contest in June of 2016, there was always a belief that both Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter would do it again. Now, according to reports, they’ll have a chance to do just that.
As first reported by Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, a rematch between the pair is currently being discussed. Part two of their back and forth first showdown would seemingly take place in the fall later on this year.
In June of 2016, Thurman beat Porter by identical 115-113 scores on all three judges’ scorecards. Shortly after, Thurman would go on to defeat Danny Garcia by split decision to unify titles in the welterweight division. But while Thurman was considered by most as the man to beat, his career took off in the wrong direction.
Following his win over Garcia, Thurman would spend close to two years on the sidelines due to various injuries. He would eventually come back to outpoint borderline contender Josesito Lopez in January of 2019. Although he appeared rusty, Thurman pressed forward with his career and would land a mega showdown against Manny Pacquiao in July of 2019. Thurman would hit the canvas in the first round of said contest but would rally back. His second-half surge wasn’t enough, however, as Pacquiao handed him the first defeat of his career and stripped him of his WBA welterweight title. After the loss, the injury bug bit him once again as he hasn’t been seen in the ring due to a hand injury.
While the stock of Thurman has seemingly taken a hit, Porter’s couldn’t be any higher. The Cleveland Ohio, native went on to reel off four wins in a row, including a title winning effort against Danny Garcia and a single title defense against the highly-rated Yordenis Ugas.
In an attempt to unify titles against Errol Spence Jr., Porter fell just short of doing so via split decision in September of 2019. Brushing that loss aside, Porter picked up a wide decision win against fringe contender Sebastian Formella in August of 2020.
Although a rematch with Thurman is something that Porter has always craved, the former two-time welterweight champion was adamant in taking on current WBO belt holder, Terence Crawford. Yet, after negotiations behind the scenes broke down, Porter stated that he was putting Crawford in the rearview mirror to chase other matchups.
While nothing is official just yet, with neither man having a fight currently booked, we could be on our way to seeing them match up in the ring once more.