Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, both former welterweight world titleholders and among the best 147-pounders in the world, are about as evenly matched as one could hope for in a big-time boxing match.
They will fight for a vacant world title on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a fight most expect to be a good one but whose winner is difficult to pick. Just ask anyone with a boxing opinion.
But if there is one person with a keen insight into how the fight might go it is welterweight world titleholder Keith Thurman. He has beaten both of them in his last two fights, both coming at Barclays Center.
In June 2016, Thurman took a very close, action-packed unanimous decision to retain his belt against Porter, 115-113 on all three scorecards. In March 2017, he faced Garcia in a title unification fight and prevailed by split decision, winning 116-112 and 115-113 while one judge scored the fight 115-113 for Garcia.
Thurman was supposed to defend his unified title against Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs), 30, of Las Vegas, who had become his mandatory challenger and earned the rematch. But elbow and hand injuries have kept Thurman out of the ring since his fight with Garcia, which forced him to vacate one of the titles. That was a move that paved the way for Porter and Garcia (34-1, 20 KOs), 30, of Philadelphia, to fight for the vacant belt.
The winner of Saturday’s fight could also loom as a potential opponent for Thurman, who is expected to return late this year in a tune-up fight. Porter and Garcia both say they’d like a rematch with Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs), 29, of Clearwater, Florida.
So what does Thurman think of the fight?
“I honestly love this fight, and I consider it a tremendous battle and one of the best matchups of the year. For me, having fought both of them, I do believe that each is capable of hurting the other and getting one another out of there,” Thurman said. “I know most fans are going to lean toward Danny Garcia with his knockout power and the potential for that. Then there is Shawn, who’s got a decent punch, even though he focuses on his output more than his one-punch solid blow and has it in his arsenal to hurt Danny Garcia.”
“I wouldn’t bet on Shawn getting the knockout, but I would on Shawn getting the victory, simply because of his output. I think Danny’s only chance of winning is by knockout, but even as a gambling man, I can’t put my money on Danny getting it. I’m taking Shawn Porter by decision.”
How does Thurman think that Porter and Garcia stack up in various categories? He spoke recently with Showtime analyst Steve Farhood to offer his views.
Here is how Thurman broke down the seven categories:
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Punching power: “Danny can punch with both hands. He does load up, so you can’t be right there in front of him.” Edge Garcia.
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Physical strength: “Shawn is clearly the more physical fighter.” Edge Porter.
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Defense: “Porter’s defense is his offense. With Danny, I’ve never seen anyone so willing to just stare at me without throwing a punch. He’s committed to being second, a pure counterpuncher.” Edge Garcia.
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Speed: “Shawn is faster and a little more athletic. He’ll triple on the jab to get inside and use stutter-steps. Danny’s real relaxed, but that doesn’t necessarily come through in his hand speed.” Edge Porter
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Boxing ability: “Neither one is known for boxing. Danny’s a counterpuncher, and Shawn outworks you. Danny has nice boxing movement when he wants to be evasive. He’s underrated when on his back foot. We saw that against (Lucas) Matthysse and (Brandon) Rios.” Edge Garcia.
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Ring IQ: “Hard to judge. These are two (former) world champions with tremendous amateur pedigrees.” Even.
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Chin: “In my fights, Porter took more big punches than Garcia did. I had to hit hard to keep Porter off me. They both have enough power to hurt each other.” Even.