Robert Guerrero: Will Keith Thurman fight like a man or run?

By Boxing News - 01/14/2015 - Comments

By Jim Dower: Two months from now former two division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) and WBA interim welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) will be meeting up on NBC television for a fight on March 7th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This will be the first of their manager Al Haymon’s “Premier Boxing Champions” shows on NBC. Guerrero, who hasn’t fought since his grueling 12 round unanimous decision win over Yoshihiro Kamegai last year in June, is wondering whether Thurman will run from him for 12 rounds like he did against his last opponent Leonard Bundu or if he’s stand in the pocket and fight him like a man.

It’s a bit much to ask Thurman to stand in the pocket and fight it out with Guerrero because Thurman has never been that type of fighter. He’s built a reputation as a slugger, but if you watch his fights, Thurman is usually throwing shots in reverse as he’s retreating or single shots against stationary guys that aren’t really trying to throw anything at him.

If his opponent comes forward, Thurman pretty much always will retreat rather than stand his ground. That’s what separates him from other fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana and Kell Brook. Those fighters will tend to stay in place if their opponents come at them, because they trust their defense, their chin and their ability to get their shots off. Thurman is a little different. He’ll back off and throw left hooks in retreat or use lateral movement to avoid getting hit.

Guerrero is going is likely going to have a real problem trying to stalk Thurman and force him to stand and fight in the pocket, because Thurman doesn’t appear to be mentally wired that way. He’s a hit and run type fighter who has built up a reputation as a slugger off of mainly weak opposition. Thurman has yet to knockout a high caliber fighter during his career so you can’t really take his “One Time” moniker to seriously at this point.

In Guerrero’s last fight against Kamegai, he had the perfect opponent for him to stand toe-to-toe with and slug it out for 12 rounds. But it’s likely going to be a different story for Guerrero against Thurman on March 7th, because Thurman is not going to want to stand and trade with him.

If Thurman wouldn’t stand and trade with Jesus Soto Karass after being staggered by him, then he’s certainly not going to want to stand and trade with Guerrero in this fight. You can expect Thurman to be on his bike much like he did against Bundu. That doesn’t mean that Thurman won’t be able to out-box Guerrero, because I think he will.

Thurman has the better boxing skills and his constant movement will make it impossible for Guerrero to be able to land enough of his shots to win the fight. But I expect Thurman’s boxing stock to continue to drop with the casual boxing fans and the hardcore fans who prefer action to running.

Mayweather uses a lot of movement at times in his fights, but he’s willing to stand in the pocket for prolonged periods of time to make it exciting for boxing fans. Thurman isn’t like that. He simply won’t stand in the pocket at all for any length of time, and you have to wonder whether he has a chin problem he’s trying to hide or if he just doesn’t like pain and isn’t willing to take a little bit in order to get his own shots off.



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