Opinion: Thurman-Porter Reminded That Boxing Can Be Great Again

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Boxing needed this.

With the horrible taste of Mayweather-Pacquiao still lingering, the sport has struggled to find its footing after the biggest fight in all of boxing failed to live up to its lofty expectations. But Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter put on an impressive display of guts and glory in an epic, 12-round battle that saw Thurman come out with a narrow unanimous decision.

It was the adrenaline shot that boxing fans sorely needed as the sport they have come to love has been struggling to get off of life support. But was it too little, too late?

Thurman-Porter was one of those fights rarely seen in boxing today: a meeting between a pair of young, hungry fighters who are still on the rise. Boxing has had it bad with protecting its stars in an effort to build up big fights. It works when you have a pair of enigmas like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, but it doesn’t hold up as well for fighters who are less popular and still looking to establish themselves as household names.

The pairing of Thurman and Porter appeared to have “Fight of the Year” implications written all over it. Given a prime-time slot on CBS, the stage was set. Of course, there was concern that not enough people knew who Porter or Thurman were, but in the end, it didn’t really matter.

So much damage had been done to boxing before these two set foot in the ring. Forget Mayweather-Pacquiao; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is the one hurting the sport right now with his upcoming fight against virtual unknown Liam Smith in September. Boxing’s current pay-per-view champ has once again sidestepped Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, as Alvarez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, seeks to “build up” the fight. So, instead, we’ll get it in 2017... maybe.

Canelo isn’t the only culprit. Another highly anticipated fight between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev is loaded with intrigue. However, we’re going to have to watch both of them in glorified sparring sessions against unworthy opponents before they face each other.

Blatant mismatches are bad for the sport. What fight fans want are the best fighting the best, and that’s what they got with Thurman and Porter.

There are going to be a number of boxing fans who scoff at the notion that Thurman-Porter was the most important fight of the year. Just a few weeks ago, Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido engaged in a pugilistic slugfest that is the early frontrunner for “Fight of the Year.” However, its significance doesn’t come close to that of Thurman and Porter’s bout. For one, Vargas and Salido’s battle wasn’t a mainstream attraction. It’s similar to having a magnificent fight in the UFC, but it was on the prelims and didn’t receive maximum exposure. Thurman-Porter was in a prime slot where casual fight fans could easily tune in and witness either a remarkable fight or yet another overhyped dud.

Fortunately, boxing delivered the fight it desperately needed. For one night, Thurman and Porter showcased what happens when the best face the best: a thrilling, back-and-forth battle between two fighters unwilling to take a step back. Both realized that they were on prime-time television and showcased the skills that got them there. A stark contrast in styles yielded crowd pleasing results as Porter tried to muscle Thurman around on the inside, while Thurman opted to operate in space. With both determined to put their game plan to work, it resulted in an incredibly close affair. They were separated by a mere one landed punch -- Thurman connected with 235 punches, while Porter landed 236, according to CompuBox -- and in 10 of the 12 rounds, the two were within five punches of each other.

The 12,718 fans stuffed into Barclays Center in New York were into the fight from the opening bell and helped enhance the atmosphere as they roared during their frequent exchanges.

You can debate who should have won – Thurman earned scores of 115-113 on all three judges’ cards -- but neither fighter truly lost anything. Despite taking his second loss, Porter will be in position to land another big fight. As for Thurman, he’s the benchmark for the division right now. He could take a rematch with Porter or hunt down Danny Garcia for welterweight supremacy.

No, Thurman-Porter won’t cure boxing’s hangover, but it proved that “Field of Dreams” adage: If you build it, they will come.

People like to watch fighting, just as long as you give them fights that they want to see. Maybe other promoters will recognize the value in letting the best fight the best. Even if they lose, they can still come out on top. Or maybe they won’t and we’ll just have to celebrate this one night.

Andreas Hale is the editorial content director of 2DopeBoyz.com, co-host of the boxing, MMA and pro wrestling podcast “The Corner” and a regular columnist for Sherdog.com. You can follow on Twitter for his random yet educated thoughts on combat sports, music, film and popular culture.