Porter vs Thurman Set For June, Porter Fights Today Too

It is March 12th, and Shawn Porter is preparing himself for a twelve round “exhibition” against 40 year old Lanardo “The Pain Server” Tyner, a veteran with a 30-10-2 overall record.

Not exactly what “Showtime” Shawn Porter had in mind, as he was originally scheduled to face Keith Thurman today in a real showdown at welterweight. But the “exhibition” with Tyner serves as a way to keep Porter busy and in the public eye. The Premier Boxing Champions will use Porter’s presence to generate interest in a live stream of the exibition on their Facebook Page. The schedule has it starting at 10:30 PM Eastern Standard Time and is part of a PBC experiment and something they have not tried before.

It is nice to try something new, and Porter is game, but you will excuse him if his blazing smile gets a little forced at times. Today’s fight with Thurman was supposed to be in a primetime slot on CBS.

The smile was real on Porter’s face on Friday, March 11th however when Showtime released a major chunk of their schedule, and it included Porter’s WBA World Welterweight title showdown with the undefeated Thurman (26-0) on June 25th. Television giant CBS is onboard again and will air the fight in a prime slot.

The original March 12th date with Thurman came off the table because Thurman was in a car accident on February 22nd and pulled out of the fight due to a resulting injured neck. The problem was not considered serious at the time, and it was reported that Thurman would be able to return to training after a few weeks. Thurman has not said much about the incident, with most of the public information being released by promoter Lou DiBella and Thurman representative Hanna Bolte. The June 25th date would give Thurman a full twelve week camp prior to the newly re-scheduled meeting with Porter.

As for today’s “exhibition” featuring Porter, who knows what it will be like. If you don’t know Tyner, he is a veteran with a lot of big names on his resume. Saul Alvarez, Lamont Peterson, Wale Omotoso, Kevin Bizier, Jessie Vargas, Antonio DeMarco and Dierry Jean have all beaten him in his career. For Tyner, he is there to make Porter look good. Think of the “exhibition” label on the fight as insurance against Porter getting hurt.

Porter deserves credit for today’s exhibition. A lot of fighters in today’s sport would not consider doing something like that. And it is free to the viewing public.

The June 25th location is still being worked out, and a complete card has not been announced.  The WBA World Featherweight title bout between Argentina’s Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar and Abner Mares was also announced as a co-main event.

June 25th, 2016 – Showtime Boxing

Card Subject To Change:

Welterweight 12 RDS: Keith Thurman (26-0) vs Shawn Porter (26-1-1)
Featherweight 12 RDS: Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (28-1) vs Abner Mares (29-2-1)