Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia talk the talk at Barclays Center news conference

The Associated Press

Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, left, lands a punch on Shawn Porter during their welterweight title fight in June at Barclays Center. Thurman retained his title via narrow decision/AP photo by Gregory Payan

 

Welterweight world champions Keith “One Time” Thurman and Danny Garcia are a combined 60-0 with 41 knockouts. That’s a lot of talent. The question is, which fighter has more?

We’ll find out March 4 when they square off in a title-unification bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS).

The interested parties hosted a news conference there Wednesday. Nor surprisingly, each fighter talked down to the other.

“This fight is going to have action,” said Thurman, of Clearwater, Fla. “There’s too much on the line. I remember Danny from the amateurs. I applaud him for everything he’s done in his career. He signed the wrong contract, though, because Keith Thurman’s got this. Danny Garcia, you’re getting knocked out.”

Said Garcia: “I just had to tell Keith be careful what he wished for. He wanted this fight. But now that he’s got it, you have to deal with me.”

Garcia, of Philadelphia, is trained by his father, Angel, who talks about as much trash as any trainer out there. Thurman intimated he couldn’t care less about that.

“Angel will talk to try to get people off of their game,” Thurman said. “Danny is an elite fighter, and he can talk for himself. These father trainers seem to like the limelight as much as the fighter, if not more. At the end of the day, I’m only fighting Danny Garcia.”

Thurman, 28, is 27-0 with 22 knockouts. Garcia, 28, is 33-0 with 19 knockouts.

 

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Big opportunity for Norwalk’s Oscar Molina foiled in TKO loss to Jarrett Hurd

Oscar Molina, left, takes a right cross from Jarrett Hurd during their fight Saturday in Brooklyn/Photo by Ryan Greene, Premier Boxing Champions

 

It was good for Oscar Molina of Norwalk to get some national television exposure. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t take advantage of it.

Molina this past Saturday faced another undefeated junior middleweight – Jarrett Hurd – underneath the welterweight title fight between Keith “One Time” Thurman and Shawn Porter, won by Thurman via narrow decision at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS).

A victory would have been the biggest of Molina’s career, but he was stopped in the 10th round by Hurd. Molina didn’t agree with the stoppage. But he was well behind on the scorecards, so he wasn’t going to win, anyway, unless he somehow managed to stop Hurd in that final round.

“I felt like Hurd was throwing a lot of punches in the 10th round, but they weren’t really hurting me,” Molina said. “He was staying busy, but he was never really hurting me.”

Molina was decked in the first round. He said he wasn’t in trouble then, either.

“I went low and I had my head down and he caught me with that uppercut in the first round,” said Molina, 26. “He got me with a shot I wasn’t expecting, but it was definitely a flash knockdown. I wasn’t hurt.”

Molina blamed himself for not being able to figure out Hurd’s defense, thus resulting in Molina smothering his own punches. He vowed to return in better form.

“This was a big opportunity for me and I felt like I fought a good fight,” he said. “I’m going to come back stronger. We’re going to work on a lot of things and get back in there.”

Molina is now 13-1-1. Hurd, of Accokeek, Md., is 18-0 with 12 knockouts.

 

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Keith Thurman retains welterweight title with close decision over Shawn Porter

Keith Thurman

Keith Thurman/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

Welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman on Saturday night slugged it out with challenger Shawn Porter over 12 rounds and when the grueling bout was over Thurman had retained his title with a close, yet unanimous decision at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The fight was televised on CBS.

Thurman (27-0) won by three scores of 115-113, which seemed to be the right call. Both fighters had outstanding moments. Thurman just seemed to have more.

The action was terrific and could be in the mix for Fight of the Year, though we have still have six months left of 2016.

There were no knockdowns, but both fighters were cut.

The bout was originally to take place in March, but Thurman was in a car accident, in which he sustained whiplash.

:Porter is 26-2-1.

 

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Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns anticipate Thurman-Porter showdown

Sugar Ray Leonard (L) in action vs Thomas Hearns during fight at Sports Pavilion of Caesars Palace. Neil Leifer
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Thomas Hearns, right, throws a body punch at Sugar Ray Leonard during their September 1981 fight in Las Vegas/File photo courtesy of Getty Images

 

Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns were in a few big fights of their own. The first of two they had against one another – in September 1981 outdoors at Caesars Palace – was a classic as Leonard came from behind to stop Hearns in the 14th round of their welterweight title fight.

This Saturday’s welterweight title fight between champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and Shawn Porter at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS) isn’t as anticipated as Leonard-Hearns, but Leonard and Hearns themselves can’t wait to see it.

“Just the heart of Keith and Shawn,” Leonard said, when asked what excites him most about this fight. “Both of these guys have heart and both have that will. That composure. You can’t teach composure. It’s something that you either have or you don’t. You can’t learn that. That deep, deep composure when your left eye is closed and your liver is busted and you got to get up (off) the canvas.”

Hearns intimated it could be an early exit for someone.

“I know Thurman and Porter have the ability to get each other out of there,” he said. “It’s going to be a matter of who gets to who first. I’m definitely watching. I hope to be there in person.”

Thurman, 27, is 26-0 with 22 knockouts. Porter, 27, is 26-1-1 with 16 knockouts.

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Keith Thurman recovered from his whiplash in a careful manner

Keith Thurman
Keith Thurman/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions
Keith “One Time” Thurman was supposed to defend his welterweight title against Shawn Porter on March 12, but Thurman was involved in a car accident that apparently was caused when Thurman’s new car began to hydroplane in wet conditions in his native Clearwater, Fla.
Thurman is healthy again, but he had to go about his rehabilitation for the whiplash he sustained in a careful manner.
“It’s six weeks before I could go back to the gym,” said Thurman, who will tangle with Porter on June 25 in the main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS). “And then, we just had to take it (in) increments as far as recovering, as far as working hard.
“Didn’t want to push my body too hard right away. Didn’t want to re-aggravate anything. Just listened to my doctors, stay doing my regular checkup routines. And we’re good to go.”
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Medical condition will prevent Abner Mares from fighting Jesus Cuellar

Abner Mares

Abner Mares/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Abner Mares of Hawaiian Gardens was really looking forward to his challenge to featherweight world champion Jesus Cuellar of Argentina. They were to tangle June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on the undercard of the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter welterweight title fight (on CBS).

However, the bout was canceled Friday because Mares has an unspecified medical condition that will prevent him from fighting in the state of New York. DiBella Entertainment is the promoter for the Premier Boxing Champions presentation and it sent out a statement informing the media of the situation, while also making sure we knew that this medical condition is not life-threatening, nor does it have anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs.

The main event between Thurman and Porter will go on as scheduled and the Mares-Cuellar TV spot will be taken by another fight.

Mares has won titles in three weight classes.

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As usual, Abner Mares about to take on another top opponent – Jesus Cuellar

Abner Mares

Abner Mares/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Abner Mares has always been that fighter you want to see do well. He is never looking to fight a patsy. He wants to tangle with only the meanest hombres. It’s his credo.

“Definitely, definitely,” said Mares, of Hawaiian Gardens. “It will grab people’s attention and that’s the key point I want to make. I’m the type of fighter that wants to leave his career known as the fighter that never took an easy route and faced the tough fighters at their moment, at their times. And God willing, always came out on top.

“It’s not always going to be the same as my last fight. It was a great fight, a fight against Leo that I didn’t win, but I got the respect from people.”

Mares has a tough list of opponents adorning his ring record. In his most recent start, he lost a grueling 12-round decision to fellow Angeleno Leo Santa Cruz in a battle for a vacant featherweight title in August at Staples Center.

Mares, who has won titles in three weight classes, dusted himself off and has for the past several weeks been preparing himself for yet another top-line fighter by the name of Jesus Cuellar of Argentina. Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) on June 25 will challenge Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) for his featherweight world title at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS, 6 p.m. Pacific time).

This is a crossroads fight for Mares. At 30, he is getting to that age when a fighter in the lighter weights begins to show the wear and tear of many ring wars. Even though he distinguished himself respectfully enough against Santa Cruz, Mares changed trainers, going from Clemente Medina to Robert Garcia.

Mares wants to know what he has left, and apparently he believes the best way to find out is to take on champions.

“Well, definitely what I want to prove to myself is that I still belong in this level type of fight against top fighters such as Cuellar, Leo or any other top-flight featherweight,” Mares said.

“And I think the reason that, my two defeats, when you just go through them real quick, first-round knockout against Jhonny Gonzalez (in August 2013). It was just, he caught me cold.

“My fight against Leo Santa Cruz, it was a tough fight. We went 12 rounds, it was a candidate for Fight of the Year, where I gave it my all but at the end of the day, I think I fought the wrong game plan. I think I defeated myself by not following instructions and not fighting a perfect plan.”

Mares, an Artesia High graduate, is certain he still has the goods.

“I’ve got a lot more to give, I’m going to show (it),” he said. “Now with my new trainer and the new mindset that I have, I think I’m going to prove just that.”

But again, Mares is trying to prove he’s still elite against a hard-hitting southpaw world champion whose only loss came nearly five years ago. Cuellar spoke like this could quickly turn into a toe-to-toe slugfest, so he must have something up his sleeve.

“We’re going to come out,” Cuellar said. “We’ve been training for this fight and we’re doing it on our strategies. We’ve been working on them. For this fight, if the opportunity presents itself, we’re going to take the fight to him.”

 

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Staying true to his credo, Abner Mares in for a tough fight with Jesus Cuellar

Abner Mares

Abner Mares/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

Abner Mares of Hawaiian Gardens has lost only two fights during what has been a fine career that has seen him win world titles in three weight classes. Those two losses – to Jhonny Gonzalez and Leo Santa Cruz – have come in his past five fights. Mares lost a majority decision to Santa Cruz this past August in a battle for a vacant featherweight world title.

That doesn’t mean Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) wants a soft touch so he can get back into the win column. One look at Mares’ ring record and one knows that’s not Mares. It’s therefore no surprise that Mares will next be challenging Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) of Argentina for his featherweight title June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on CBS).

Mares only wants the hard fights.

“Definitely, definitely,” said Mares, 30. “It will grab people’s attention and that’s the key point I want to make. I’m the type of fighter that wants to leave his career known as the fighter that never took an easy route and faced the tough fighters at their moment, at their times. And God willing, always came out on top. It’s not always going to be the same as my last fight. It was a great fight, a fight against Leo that I didn’t win, but I got the respect from people.”

Mares and Cuellar will tangle underneath the welterweight title fight between Keith “One Time” Thurman and Shawn Porter.

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Shawn Porter has a plan, but can he execute it against Keith Thurman?

Shawn Porter

Shawn Porter/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Shawn Porter has a plan. Executing it against the likes of Keith “One Time” Thurman won’t be easy, though. The two will square off June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Thurman’s welterweight world title (on CBS).

“I want to win each and every round,” said Porter, a former champion. “We want to make him have to adjust to what we’re doing. If we control the fight, we win the fight.

“I’ve always been taught to control everything in a fight. I can’t allow him to slow the tempo down. But I’m definitely not going to rush. I have the skills to execute the game plan.”

Porter believes his work in the gym will help him get what would be the biggest victory of his career.

“I think the difference is in my preparation,” Porter said. “I have a great team to match my great skills. We’re going to shock the world.”

Porter won a welterweight world title with a unanimous decision over Devon Alexander in December 2013. Porter made one successful defense before losing his belt to Kell Brook via majority decision in August 2014.

Porter, 28, is from Akron, Ohio. He is 26-1-1 with 16 knockouts.

Thurman, 27, is from Clearwater, Fla. He is 26-0 with 22 knockouts.

 

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CBS special ‘Mayweather’ on Saturday

A one-hour special entitled “Mayweather” will be televised Saturday at 8 p.m. on CBS. It will explore the life of Floyd Mayweather Jr. as well as that of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero.

Guerrero on May 4 will challenge Mayweather for his welterweight championship at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It will be televised on Showtime pay-per-view; CBS is the parent company of Showtime.

The narrator for “Mayweather” will be rapper/actor LL Cool J, who will also perform his new single, “We’re the Greatest,” on the special.

Guerrero, 30, is 31-1-1 with 18 knockouts. Mayweather, 36, is 43-0 with 26 knockouts. Their fight is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Mayweather Promotions.

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