A rematch between two former Welterweight champions could be on tap for later this year.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, a 147-pound bout between Keith Thurman (29-1-1, 22 KOs) and Shawn Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) “is being discussed for the fall” of this year.
When the two first met in 2016, Thurman defended his WBA Welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Porter in an exciting 12-round affair.
The 32-year-old Thurman hasn’t competed since July 2019, when he suffered a split-decision defeat to the legendary Manny Pacquiao that cost him his title. Before that, “One Time” had never lost a bout in his professional career. He owns victories over notable names like Robert Guerrero, Porter, Danny Garcia, and Joseito Lopez.
Porter, who previously held the WBC title, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Sebastian Formella last August. Before that, he had challenged Errol Spence Jr. in a highly anticipated title unification bout in September 2019. Although he came up short and lost by split-decision, Porter performed well, as he and Spence went back-and-forth in a 12 round thriller.
Over the course of his career, “Showtime” has earned impressive victories over names like Paulie Malignaggi, Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Garcia, and Yordenis Ugas.
Recently, it was rumored that Porter was targeting a bout against reigning WBO titleholder Terence Crawford, but any talks regarding that potential bout have seemed to hit a dead end.
As of now, a rematch between Thurman and Porter is not yet finalized, but if things continue to progress, we could see two of the world’s best 147 pounders settle the score before the year’s end.