Keith Thurman was front and center at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night as he witnessed Shawn Porter score a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia — two boxers whom "One Time" defeated back to back in 2016 and 2017 before being sidelined with an injury.
After watching Porter win the same WBC welterweight title that he had to relinquish due to his inactivity, Thurman might be ready to get back into the ring — and soon.
"In a few weeks there should be an announcement," Thurman recently said, as reported by FightHub. “I'm looking forward to getting the good news from my doctor, which is the green light from my doctor real soon, and then we'll be looking for a date and an opponent for negotiations. Hopefully in less than a month you’re going to hear something you're going to like."
Thurman had surgery on his right elbow in May 2017. Recovery time was originally thought to be eight months; it has been well over a year instead. Thurman wants to exercise extra caution in making sure he's 100 percent before returning to the ring.
When Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) is ready to return, he won't struggle to find work. He still owns the WBA welterweight title and that, in itself, would be a key reason that other fighters would want a piece of him.
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In fact, fellow welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. said the fight for him to make would be against Thurman, even going as far as to say that he would defeat "One Time" within six rounds.
The two were even photographed sitting next to each other on Saturday night.Welterweight champs @keithfthurmanjr & @ErrolSpenceJr 👀👀 #GarciaPorter pic.twitter.com/oKuwZ8HozZ
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) September 9, 2018
Perhaps a rematch with Porter would be in the cards for Thurman as well, with that scenario giving him a chance to reclaim his WBC strap. That could change, however, if Spence gets to Porter first.
Before Thurman can look ahead to facing Spence, Porter or a boxer of that caliber, however, a tuneup fight is most likely, considering he hasn't fought since March 2017 when he defeated Garcia.
