How Keith Thurman's Injury Opens Up The Welterweight Division

By Andreas Hale

Earlier this week, Keith Thurman voluntarily relinquished his WBC welterweight title due to an injury that will push his return to a boxing ring back even further. Thurman hasn’t fought since unifying his WBA title with Danny Garcia's WBC strap when he defeated the previously unbeaten Puerto Rican by unanimous decision last March.

Thurman was set to return next month against an opponent that had yet to be announced in a tune up fight of sorts. But not everybody was happy with Thurman’s decision to face an unworthy opponent to work out the kinks after elbow surgery. Shawn Porter took Thurman to task at the Danny Garcia vs. Brandon Rios fight in February and claimed that the champion was ducking a return bout after Thurman narrowly squeezed by Porter in 2016. Thurman told Porter that he’d eventually get his opportunity but would have to wait in line.

It’s a theme that has followed Thurman since becoming champion. He’s adopted a persona that has upset quite a few fighters who want a shot at him. Rather than tell opponents that he’d face them anytime, Thurman has gone the businessman route. Fans have been clamoring for a Thurman fight with Errol Spence Jr. but One Time dismissed the possibility of the fight taking place in 2018.

“You’re not gonna see it in ‘18, baby. This is the get-back year,” Thurman said earlier this year. "I hope later this year we can do an exciting fight for you, but it will not be EJ. EJ is to come, in the near future, but not that soon.”

For fans, it’s a little off-putting to hear Thurman say that it isn’t happening. Not that anybody really expected it, but to hear Thurman say it was disheartening. It’s a different side of Keith Thurman than what we’ve seen before. It’s not necessarily a bad thing as he’s in control of his destiny as the champion. However, fight fans despise hearing about business decisions interfering with the fights they want to see. Nevertheless, that’s what the 29-year-old has done.

Now that he’s sidelined and vacating the title, things actually are pretty interesting. The WBC has ordered a fight between Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia — one that Porter has been begging for — later this year. Both Porter and Garcia have exchanged words in the media for the past couple of years. Porter’s frustration boiled over after Garcia stopped Rios and jumped in the ring to challenge the Philly fighter. Garcia dismissed Porter and took aim at a rematch with Thurman. But now it appears that these two are going to be put together, and that should please fight fans.

If Thurman was active, chances are that Garcia would have benched himself to see if he could land the rematch later this year. Meanwhile, Porter would be stuck in between a rock and a hard place because he wouldn’t have the high profile fight he desired but needed to be active. Ultimately, Thurman was holding up the division. Now that he’s sidelined, it prevents fighter from waiting on him. He’ll still get his tuneup fight this summer and the WBC has declared him as the #1 contender to the title, which means he’ll likely face either Porter or Garcia early next year after the two clash.

Thurman never has been the type to duck a fight but he seems unwilling to do it unless the money is right. In his mind, he had already defeated both Porter and Garcia so there was no real rush to square off with either of them. Especially considering how tough both fights were. However, he absolutely wants to unify the titles and will have to fight to get back what was once his.

The fact that Thurman’s injury forces Garcia and Porter into the ring with one another is a huge positive, as long as the fight materializes. Nobody wants to see anybody benched with an injury, but if Thurman’s rehab is what makes a Garcia-Porter fight come to fruition, so be it. Otherwise, who knows who either of these guys would have faced this year. The welterweight division is already pretty crowded and a fight between Showtime and Swift would be a step in cutting the fat. Amir Khan is seeking a fight with Adrien Broner and Terence Crawford looks to snare away the WBO title when he faces current champion Jeff Horn in June. Spence will defend his IBF in June against Carlos Ocampo. With the exception of Terence Crawford, everyone has a clear path to fight each other.

There’s no reason to keep waiting for these fights to be made considering that they are all closer to 30 and reaching their physical primes. As long as fight fans get the bouts that they want, nobody will complain.

So, apparently, somebody needs to thank Keith Thurman for volunteering to drop the WBC title so the division can move on without him.