By Cameron Gillon: WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman was at the final press conference for the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Marcos Maidana rematch this Saturday. Thurman always shows up to these type of fights to scout and look at future opponents. He plans on being at the fight on Saturday.
Thurman is currently the mandatory challenger to be the next fighter in line to get a shot at the welterweight WBA title shot. This belt is currently held by Mayweather himself so you can understand why he is at the fight. He could potentially be the next guy Mayweather decides to fight.
I would be surprised if Mayweather did face Thurman because Thurman isn’t well known in the casual fan and wouldn’t bring in much buys in terms of being a pay-per-view fight. You can bet the hardcore fans would tune in because Thurman is highely rated as the next big start of the division, Thurman has notable wins over Julio Diaz, Carlos Quintana, and Jesus Soto Karass and has KO’d them all in impressive style.
Whether Mayweather would decide to take the risky fight against Thurman for such little reward is a question to be answered. Thurman needs to face a top 10 fighter and look good beating them if he is to be considered as a good enough opponent for Floyd at this stage. The only reason Thurman is possible is because he’s worked his way into a mandatory spot but at this stage of Mayweather’s career he won’t be forced into fighting a mandatory. So who can Thurman face before he gets a title shot to get more out there in the boxing fans eyes? Here is a list of potential fights.
IBF world champion – Kell Brook
This is a great fight. Kell Brook is coming off an impressive 12 round unanimous decision victory over Shawn Porter. Brook is undefeated, and he knows how to work on the inside and box and clinch well as shown against Porter. Brook is unbeaten in 33 fights and holds a world title and has expressed a strong desire to face Thurman in the future. Whether or not Thurman will be the one Brook decides to fight next in his first few defenses is one to be questioned. You can bet Brook would take it but chances are his promoter Eddie Hearn would talk him out of taking the dangerous fight in Thurman so soon.
Amir Khan
Now this is a big fight for Thurman. Amir Khan is a big name in boxing and a win over Khan would definitely kick start Thurman’s career to the top. Amir Khan has a questionable chin and whether he could handle Keith Thurman’s power for 12 rounds is the one people will ask. Thurman has an incredible knockout ratio so far. Khan showed improvement in his last fight against Luis Collazo. He learnt how to work on the inside by clinching well and going on to win a unanimous decision win. Khan is now chasing a fight with Mayweather but I don’t see this fight happening and a win over Collazo for me isn’t enough to get it. He needs a win over a notable name to get the fight and Thurman is the man who can do that.
Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley is as tough as they come. In his last fight he got beat by Manny Pacquiao in April and lost his WBO title that he won from Pacquiao in 2012 and has notable wins over Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. Bradley took some big shots from these guys especially against Provodnikov. He is a heavy hitter and had Bradley down in the last few seconds of the 12th round before Bradley took a knee and went on to win on a decision. Thurman and Bradley have been asked in the past whether they would fight each other and both said bring it on as soon as possible. This is a good fight and one that could elevate both fighters to a world title fight.
Marcos Maidana
Now this fight can happen by two ways. If Mayweather beats Maidana this Saturday then Maidana will be looking for another fight to get him to a world title quickly. If he wins then he will win the WBA title and with Maidana as there champion there is no doubt Maidana will be forced to face his mandatory which is Thurman. So this fight I believe can happen no matter what happens Saturday. Maidana was offered the fight against Thurman years ago but turned it down and this doesn’t surprise me because Thurman isn’t that known in the casual fan so at that time there was no way a big name like Maidana was going to take a risky dangerous fight to possibly lose and look bad in doing. So, if this fight came across one day, it would be an all-out war. Thurman is the better boxer and the smarter one and would likely box Maidana whilst Maidana would come out throwing bombs and wild shots. Maidana has a habit of throwing the over hand right and not connecting much and Thurman unlike Mayweather with his heavy power could take advantage of a miss from Maidana and connect with his own and put Maidana down.
Any of these fights would be the perfect fight for Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman. A win would certainly answer a lot of his critics about how he hasn’t had his chin tested and the fact he hasn’t looked good against a top elite fighter yet. What people forget is Thurman has been looking for this fight he needs for a long time but none of these champions want him in the ring.
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