Thurman predicts a fight of the year epic against Porter

World champion Keith Thurman predicts a fight of the year epic when he defends his WBA welterweight title against Shawn Porter on June 25.

The two good friends will battle it out at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York on June 25, with Thurman now having fully recovered from the whiplash injury he suffered in a car accident that forced him to pull out of their original clash that had been scheduled for March 12.

It will be the second defence of his strap and 27-year-old Thurman (26-0, 22KOs) believes the fight will be worth the wait fox boxing fans.

“I made you wait. But it’s worth it. This is a tremendous fight – arguably the best match up of the year. We’re going to work our butts off to make it the fight of the year,” he said.

“Our two teams go way back. This is the most beautiful moment of my professional career and I’m about to compete with somebody I grew up with.
I’m happy for my success and I’m happy for Shawn’s success.

“We come from the same boat. When you’re a young kid in the gym training and then you’re here today, that takes a special kind of person.

Shawn and I are both that kind of person. But on June 25, my friend is about to become my enemy. I’m going to treat him like any other enemy.

“This isn’t just the biggest fight of my career. But it’s the most anticipated fight of my career. Sometimes it pays to add some drama to the game. It wasn’t our intention, but I think it worked out.

“I want to have two titles by the end of this year. People talk about replacing Floyd Mayweather, but you can’t become the man without beating all the people in front of you. One fight at a time. I want to stay at the top by grabbing another belt. I’m going to show that I’m the big dog at 147 pounds.”

Porter (26-1-1, 16KOs) is the former IBF world champion, before he was beaten on points by Briton Kell Brook back in August 2014.

The 27-year-old has since bounced back with wins over Erick Bone and Adrien Broner and insists he has no problem beating a friend in order to regain world champion status.

“I’m very excited about this fight. I’m blessed to have this opportunity,” he said.