{"id":59892,"date":"2016-04-26T20:35:28","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T01:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=59892"},"modified":"2016-04-26T20:35:55","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T01:35:55","slug":"keith-thurman-shawn-porter-heats-up-at-press-conference-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=59892","title":{"rendered":"Keith Thurman – Shawn Porter HEATS UP at Press Conference – Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image004\"<\/a>Photo Credit Amanda Westcott\/Showtime<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welterweight world champion Keith Thurman and former champion Shawn Porter went face-to-face Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan as they hosted a press conference to discuss their highly anticipated Saturday, June 25 showdown on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT with featherweight world champion Jesus Cuellar defending his title against former three-division world champion Abner Mares.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, start at $42, not including applicable fees, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, www.barclayscenter.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP.<\/p>\n

Thurman and Porter went eye-to-eye and talked about their eagerly awaited 147-pound world title clash that takes place in primetime on June 25.<\/p>\n

Here is what the participants had to say Tuesday:<\/p>\n

KEITH THURMAN<\/p>\n

\u201cI made you wait. But it\u2019s worth it. This is a tremendous fight. Arguably the best matchup of the year. We\u2019re going to work our butts off to make it the Fight of the Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur two teams go way back. This is the most beautiful moment of my professional career and I\u2019m about to compete with somebody I grew up with. I\u2019m happy for my success and I\u2019m happy for Shawn\u2019s success. We come from the same boat. When you\u2019re a young kid in the gym training and then you\u2019re here today, that takes a special kind of person. Shawn and I are both that kind of person.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took six weeks off after my accident, with three days a week of physical therapy. I was relaxing at home. I didn\u2019t like it. As a fighter, I wanted this fight as bad as the fans wanted this fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just the biggest fight of my career. But it\u2019s the most anticipated fight of my career. Sometimes it pays to add some drama to the game. It wasn\u2019t our intention, but I think it worked out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarclays Center makes this a big fight. We get to promote here in New York City. New York is a fight town. My favorite fighter of all time, Mike Tyson, is from Brooklyn. This just happened to work out for the best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI anticipate most of the welterweight division being in attendance on June 25. The situation that division is in right now is that we\u2019re all in a frenzy. Everyone wants the spotlight and everyone wants to be the top dog. We all have that opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to have two titles by the end of this year. People talk about replacing Floyd Mayweather, but you can\u2019t become the man without beating all the people in front of you. One fight at a time. I want to stay at the top by grabbing another belt. I\u2019m going to show that I\u2019m the big dog at 147 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cJune 25, my friend is about to become my enemy. I\u2019m going to treat him like any other enemy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet your tickets. Get your seats. Get your popcorn. Whatever you need to do. This is going to be a fight you don\u2019t want to miss. This is going to be a knockout you don\u2019t want to miss. I love you Shawn, but I\u2019m doing my best to put you to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHAWN PORTER<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited about this fight. I\u2019m blessed to have this opportunity. Not only to go for this title but to be a part of a record-breaking show at Barclays Center. This night is going to be memorable.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeith Thurman is bringing out the competitiveness in me to a level I\u2019ve always wanted. It\u2019s a level I expect. I have a guy next to me who is challenging me more than ever. Me and Keith Thurman are going to put on a show. Everything you talked about, you\u2019re going to get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is amazing to be a part of something great like this. I\u2019ve always considered myself to be a very good fighter and a very good athlete, but I\u2019ve always wanted something like this and to have it is very humbling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t surprised that Keith said he would knock me out. He has to pump himself up and be confident. When he looked at me I think he was trying to convince me that he was being real and I was looking at him to find out if he was convinced. He thinks he\u2019s going to knock me out, I say he\u2019s not. I\u2019m going to do everything it takes to beat him and make it look easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is forming to be a big fight, one of those fights that we\u2019ve looked forward to since we were kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my second time fighting at Barclays Center. I\u2019m 1-0 with a championship so now I\u2019m looking for another one. I\u2019ve been to some of the other fights at Barclays too and it is really an electric atmosphere. People are coming out to see something great and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to give them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not changing anything in camp because of how familiar Keith and I are with each other. I have to do it at the right time in the ring. We\u2019re going to do everything we do to prepare for a world championship fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThurman is a little unorthodox at times so we\u2019re prepared for that. It\u2019s about going 12 rounds or less and looking good doing it. We\u2019ve done a little sparring as pros but nothing as competitive as I\u2019m expecting on June 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a feeling Keith is going to say he\u2019s knocking me out a lot. I want to know if he believes that. He\u2019s a cutthroat kind of fighter. I know that. The hands will be up, the defense will be taken care of, and we\u2019re taking care of business.\u201d<\/p>\n

DAN BIRMINGHAM, Thurman\u2019s Trainer<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to this fight. Me, Keith and the Porters go way back, but sometimes you have to fight your friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese two guys are both at the top of their games and the best man is going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

KEN PORTER, Porter\u2019s Father & Trainer<\/p>\n

\u201cDan Birmingham is actually one of my mentors and I\u2019ve been watching Keith since he was 14-years-old. We\u2019re all friends but to have the opportunity on this stage, I don\u2019t think we can have better competitors as fighter and trainer. I don\u2019t think it can reach a higher level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fully expect the immovable object versus the irresistible force meeting in the ring for an explosion on June 25.\u201d<\/p>\n

LOU DIBELLA, President of DiBella Entertainment<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best that boxing has to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter could very well be the Fight of the Year. It\u2019s a fan fight that everybody has anticipated for many years. These are the two most established welterweights in the world battling to see who the successor to Floyd Mayweather\u2019s domination of the division is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so far the fastest-selling boxing event at Barclays Center and the biggest presale we\u2019ve ever had for a fight at Barclays Center. This is one to start buying your tickets early.<\/p>\n

\u201cAside from being two of the very best at their weight class, these are two of the more interesting guys in boxing. These are two of the smartest and most cerebral fighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why I\u2019m in boxing. This is why we\u2019re all in boxing. This is on national, free, over-the-air television and I think it\u2019s great. We want as many people as possible to watch this fight. We want to expose people to the best our sport has to offer.<\/p>\n

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the midst of perhaps the strongest run of boxing this network has ever had. While other networks cut back on programming, we are reinvesting in the sport and giving it as big of a platform as there ever has been.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the strongest lineup of any network this year. These are two of the strongest fighters in the most popular division in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last primetime boxing match on CBS was 1987, Ali-Spinks 1. Those are big shoes to fill. When I pitched a fight for CBS I knew I had to bring something that was incredibly strong. That is what we have on June 25. This card has come together as perfectly as anyone could have imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of the top five welterweights of their career battling for the top of the division. This is an event that speaks for itself. I\u2019m proud to be involved with this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

BRETT YORMARK, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a special time at Barclays Center the last couple of weeks. I think Barclays Center is defined by dramatic moments. When I think of this particular event, it\u2019s going to be a dramatic moment in Brooklyn and I\u2019m thrilled about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a huge boxing fan and this is one of those nights that you circle on the calendar. You need to be there. We\u2019re off to the best pre-sale and on sale since we opened Barclays Center. We have a bit of a history already and this will be the biggest one yet.\u201d<\/p>\n