On Saturday the 21st, in the Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, Undefeated prospect Keith Thurman (17-0) faces off against the more experienced Mexican Orlando Lora (29-2-2). At 23 years-old Thurman really is beginning to get noticed as a future talent and potential star at in the welterweight division, mostly being noticed for his knockout power as only one of his bouts has gone the distance and his first eight ended in the first round.
Thurman was supposed to be fighting a much bigger and well-known name in Argentinean puncher Marcos Maidana, as the co-feature to the Broner-Escobedo main event. However, Maidana chose not to go ahead with the fight and Thurman needed an opponent.
Enter in His opponent Orlando Lora. He has the edge in experience and not only that, he has fought fighters of a better caliber, including newly-crowned and former champion Paulie Malignagi. His last outing was a rather disappointing draw against rookie Francisco Rios. His most impressive win was against Favio Medina for the minor yet tangible IBA title. He has also won a Continental Americas title.
Thurman has shown great strength for the weight he competes at and has been noticed for this, already being linked with Maidana. The only bout he has not won by knockout is against the Brazilian Edvan Barros, who has a negative record but evidently has a good chin as of his 13 losses, only two have been by stoppage. His last win was his best, stopping Brandon Hoskins in the MGM on the undercard of Mayweather-Cotto, taking his undefeated record. This fight follows from this as he makes his way up the ladder towards really credible opposition, which no doubt will be available for him should he impress.
Some folks were clamoring about this fight being on HBO after Maidana bailed. Some folks were even complaining that the Maidana-Thurman was not Hbo worthy. However, we were disappointed with Maidana pulled because some people on ThaBoxingVoice.com actually felt Thurman had a shot at beating Maidana. To be honest, we’ve seen worst matchups on network television.
It must be said that Thurman as with powerful advisor, Al Haymon, so if there’s any reason he remained on the card, then there you have it. Still, it will be interesting to see if Thurman can continue his Knockout performance.
To conclude, I see Thurman getting through this fight after a few rounds to adjust to the style of Lora. It will not be over as quickly as his other fights due to the savvy nature of Lora in comparison to his prior opponents. I see him getting his opponent out of there in or amongst the rounds of 6-8.
