Keith Thurman is young and talented, but to his advantage, he’s also a hybrid boxer.
The interim WBA welterweight champion has one of the most powerful left hooks in boxing and it has helped make him one of the sport’s most popular rising stars, but also proved that he can box, as he displayed against the awkward Leonard Bundu in his most recent fight.
That unanimous decision victory left Thurman at 24-0 with 21 knockouts in a fight that left many surprised.
Thurman is a part of a rare breed in boxing, boxers that have shown a miraculous display of punching power throughout their careers, but stun the boxing world when they have to alter strategy. Sergey Kovalev is another example, who destroyed the legendary Bernard Hopkins this past November.
With the captivating victory over Bundu, the young Thurman should be in line for some big fights. However, do not be surprised if Thurman does not get a big fight off the bat, as Thurman is still a developing fighter, which brings up the matter of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. sweepstakes.
From a business perspective, a Mayweather-Thurman fight would not be difficult to make whatsoever. Both fighters are advised by Al Haymon, who happens to be Mayweather’s chief adviser, and, like Mayweather, Thurman fights on Showtime.
Haymon has been criticized in the boxing community for not making the best fights, particularly not putting his fighters up against quality opponents, which brings up another question. Would Al Haymon give the green light to this fight? Thurman’s colossal power could possibly damage Mayweather. On the other hand, Mayweather’s defensive style could prove to be a bigger challenge for Thurman.
When Canelo Alvarez fought Mayweather in September 2013, much was talked about how much Canelo improved on his defensive technique, which Canelo’s camp used to send a stern warning to Mayweather, albeit Mayweather was unfazed, given that ‘Money’ had been crafting his defensive technique since he was a toddler practically.
So, Canelo got absolutely thrashed by Mayweather. With that being said, if Thurman focuses on boxing Mayweather, it is probably going to be a one-sided affair. Thurman will have to stick to what he has done well throughout his career to even have the thought of beating Mayweather. But, Thurman is confident that he can bring the fight to the undefeated champion.
“He is the money man. He wants to be money, I want to destroy him,” said Thurman. “What is a better way to destroy money than to burn money?”
Very few boxers have been able to effectively hurt Mayweather in his storied career. Zab Judah was able to get to Mayweather a bit in their 2006 bout, even knocking down Floyd at one point, albeit the referee somehow called it a slip. Oscar De La Hoya was able to rough up Mayweather, but not enough to earn the victory. Miguel Cotto made it a rough fight, causing Mayweather to bleed out the nose following a dominant eighth round for the Puerto Rican slugger, but lost a unanimous decision. Marcos Maidana gave two valiant efforts, but came up short in both, despite opening a cut on Mayweather early in the fight, the first time that Mayweather had ever been cut in 18 years in the ring.
Floyd says it proudly, 47 have tried and 47 have failed. Thurman could care less about what the statistics say. The Clearwater, Florida native believes he is something special.
“I will definitely take it to him in a way that has never been taken to him before and by doing that I will be doing something that you guys would actually not even expect,” added Thurman. “A lot of people think they know the formula, but there is no real formula. It is all about the millisecond, being in the moment.”
Thurman is talking a big game early, but thinks the fight could go either way.
“To be honest, I see it 50-50 from my perspective,” said Thurman. “He is highly intelligent, world-class level. He knows what it takes. Floyd Mayweather is the best seven-round fighter in the world. The reason why he is the best seven-round fighter in the world is because it takes seven out of 12 rounds to win a world title.”
From my perspective, there are three fights that could happen on May 2nd. It could be Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Khan, or Mayweather-Thurman. Which one seems more likely?
