WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman is enjoying his reputation as a knockout artist as he looks forward to another knockout win over challenger and former Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Shawn Porter on June 25 at the Barclays Center in New York.
Thurman, who is unbeaten in 26 fights since turning pro in 2007, has a knockout rating of 81 percent. Since his professional debut nine years ago, Thurman had been knocking almost every opponent who came in the way of his flourishing boxing career. But in his last four fights since his knockout win against Jes?s Soto Karass in 2013, Thurman has failed to score a knockout. In his upcoming fight against Porter, the 27 year-old native of Clearwater, Florida is confident he will score another knockout win. I?m definitely going for the knockout.? Thurman said during the opening of his training camp to media in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday. ?I?m going for the knockout. I?ve stated it before. My hands are itching for a knockout. I?m ?One Time,? all the time. That?s my philosophy. Every single time I step into the ring I?m looking for the knockout. We don?t get paid for overtime,” he said. Thurman takes pride in knocking out almost all of his opponents at least until 2014 when he engaged Julio D?az in a title fight that ended in a technical decision in his favor. ?I?ve always considered myself a knockout artist. Back to when I was a teenager knocking out grown men in headgear. Ever since then, I?ve been dropping people like a bad habit,” he said. Thurman is known for his power punching ability which usually leads to KO wins and earning him a nickname of “One Time.” ?I love being a power-puncher. My favorite fighter of all time is Mike Tyson. One of my goals that I set when I was a kid was to have more knockouts than Mike Tyson throughout my career,” Thurman added. While Thurman is eager to score another knockout win, he is in for a tough fight against Porter whose only career loss was against Kell Brook of England in a majority decision at the StubHub Ceter in Carson, California in 2014. Porter (26-1-1,16 KOs) is coming off two straight wins since his lone loss to Brook. His Latest win was against Adrien Broner. Like Thurman, the 28-year-old native of Akron, Ohio is also a heavy puncher and is capable of scoring a KO against Thurman. The winner of the Thurman-Porter fight is set to face Interim WBA welterweight champion David Avanesyan (22-1-1, 11 KOs), who beat veteran fighter Shane Mosley last month.
