By: Hans Themistode
In the not-too-distant past, Keith Thurman took the number one spot in the consensus weight class. In a round of four skirmishes from 2015-2017, Thurman defeated Robert Guerrero, Luis Collazo, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia – all of whom were world champions at some point.
However, after his decisive win over Garcia, Thurman’s career fell into a dormant spiral. While he’s only fought twice since the unification of the weight class, Thurman is working hard as he prepares to return.
Meanwhile, the former £147 belt admits that he often watches a lot of boxing in his spare time. Among the names he finds himself observing is current WBO champion Terence “Bud” Crawford. With the pound-for-pound star kicking off arguably the biggest win of his career over the weekend, his tenth stoppage-time winner over two-time former champion Shawn Porter, Thurman has now taken his hat off. as a possible opponent.
“I will be back in the ring soon,” Thurman said in an interview with The Athletic. “I am delighted, more than willing, to step into the ring with “Bud” Crawford next summer. I’m ready to fight Crawford eight months from now. ”
Thurman’s willingness to face Crawford may come with some skepticism. Although the 33-year-old was once considered the top passer of the tournament, constant injuries have taken away all of his motivation.
In his most recent ring appearance, Thurman gave future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao all he could handle. Despite the Florida native suffering the first loss of his career, Pacquiao has publicly confessed that Thurman has been one of the tougher fights of his career.
Since then, Thurman has been forced to sit out while nursing another injury. As for Crawford, he has long expressed a desire to face Thurman in the ring. Before Omaha, Nebraska, the native signed Porter, he considered the clash with Thurman a much larger event, going as far as to say Thurman was “number one on the team no matter who liked it.” it or not.”
Although Thurman doesn’t have any world titles at the moment, given his stature and Crawford’s ambitions, Thurman believes he’s the exact fighter Crawford should be in.
“He sounds like someone who, of course, wants to be rewarded on his resume,” Thurman continued. “He wants these titles to be his own. He also wanted the legacy to have names that are part of history.”
