Former welterweight champions Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman are reportedly negotiating a deal to fight this fall. Mike Coppinger of The Athletic first reported the news on June 9 via Twitter.
Porter and Thurman first met in a title bout in June 2016. After fighting for 12 tough rounds, Thurman emerged with a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Thurman and he was able to retain his 147-pound title.
Following his bout with Porter, Thurman fought Danny Garcia in a unification bout in the 147-pound division. Much like his bout with Porter, the fight was extremely close, but Thurman emerged with a split decision victory. Unfortunately, Thurman was sidelined for the next two years with various injuries. When he returned in 2019, he narrowly defeated Josesito Lopez and then lost his title to Manny Pacquiao.
Meanwhile, Porter has managed to ascend in the welterweight rankings since his loss to Thurman. He managed to stop Andre Berto in 2017 before beating Danny Garcia to win the WBC Welterweight Title. From there, he beat Yordenis Ugas before losing a narrow decision to Errol Spence Jr.
Neither Porter nor Thurman has discussed the bout publicly as of yet. As a result, no official date or venue has been announced.
