Shawn Porter ready to 'dominate' WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman
Wednesday 24 February 2016 12:18, UK
Shawn Porter says he is ready to "prove the doubters wrong" when he takes on unbeaten world champion Keith Thurman in March.
Porter (26-1-1-KO16) challenges Thurman (26-0-KO22) for the WBA welterweight belt on March 12 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The former IBF welterweight champion, whose only previous defeat came against Kell Brook in 2014, enters the bout on the back of a points victory over Adrien Broner in June .
Porter, 28, is confident of beating his compatriot and becoming world champion for the second time in his career.
"I do not feel like I am coming in as the underdog," Porter said, ahead of the fight which will be shown live on Sky Sports.
"In order to be the champion, you have to beat the champion. That is my outlook on this fight, not only to outpoint him but to make it very decisive and dominate the fight.
"My motivation is to prove the doubters wrong. I have faced a tougher opposition than Keith Thurman. My plan is to go in there and shake him up, make him uncomfortable and carry the fight just like that.
"I am ready and whatever Thurman has to bring. I'm ready for 12 rounds, I'm ready to knock him out. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to win. I'm ready."
Porter and Thurman know each other well, having sparred together before previous fights in the past.
"We expect what we saw in sparring with him to show up in the fight," Porter said.
"He moved around a lot when we sparred. There weren't very many clean shots landed by either of us, but I know from sparring with him that I have to be aggressive and that I have to cutoff the ring.
"I would say that for the majority of this fight it is probably going to be me as the aggressor. He likes to bully guys at the beginning of the fight to wear them down to feel himself out. We're expecting him to move a lot more against me.
"In my last fight I didn't get hit very much and I am taking that same mindset and defence into this fight."
Welterweight is arguably one of the most competitive divisions following the recent retirement of Floyd Mayweather and Porter is keen to fill the void left by the long-time American champion.
"As far as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, I think those faces are going away," said Porter. "The welterweight class is exciting and there's going to be a new face on the top of that ranking. I'd like that face to be me.
"I don't make any predictions; I just know I am going to win."
Thurman and Porter's chief support will see featherweight star Abner Mares (28-2-1-KO15) take on the experienced Fernando Montiel (54-5-4-KO39), who lost on points to IBF world featherweight Lee Selby in October.
