By Dan Esch: Boxing fans and Thurman / Guerrero fans alike are salivating in anticipation for a fight “rumored” to be taking place on March 7th 2015. Right away if you don’t know, one of the major points of this fight is that supposedly and I say supposedly because it is still not confirmed yet but this card will be FREE meaning it will be aired on regular NBC television not PPV, HBO or SHOWTIME. I give respect were respect is due and the man behind this card on NBC is none other than Al Haymon the “behind the scenes” manager for many of the star boxers of today.
Haymon has been getting some bad press and negative feedback on some of his “miss matched” fights i.e. Garcia vs. Salka in 2014 but maybe that was the “plan”. Will 2015 be an Al Haymon year with Stiverne vs. Wilder approaching followed by the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Confirmation and now Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero? The boxing world has been waiting for Keith Thurman to step up to better completion and Thurman has expressed many times over that he felt the same disappointment and anger but he was not in control of the other fighters signing the contract and taking the risk.
Now rewind back to 2013 a match between Thurman and Guerrero was suppose to happen but Guerrero turned the fight down for whatever reason and Thurman was willing but as we all know it didn’t happen. Fast forward to today I believe this fight has worked out even better in Thurman’s favor because he has gained more experience since trying to secure a Guerrero fight in 2013 plus some of the boxing public mainly casual fans did not enjoy Thurman’s last performance against Leonard Bundu.
Al Haymon has made a brilliant move for Thurman by placing him on his first NBC card right back in front of the casual fans for FREE against a former recent Floyd Mayweather opponent who lost to Mayweather but wasn’t knocked out. Keith Thurman does posses the power and skill to knock Robert “Ghost” Guerrero out in my opinion and I believe it can happen because the style of boxing Guerrero has is where Keith Thurman shines, against a rough and tough Latin fighter who doesn’t back down and who possess a granite chin.
Robert Guerrero is also coming off a win over Yoshihiro Kamegai so his winning spirit should be good and at a high level but we have to see how he will perform against a guy who can bang and move if he has too. Now before this rumor was made known I already felt sorry for the next Keith Thurman opponent whoever it would be because the media and some boxing fans bad mouthed Keith Thurman after the Leonard Bundu fight and there were Boo’s from the fans in the arena.
I believe Keith Thurman put on a masterful and “smart” performance against a very awkward and short fighter in Leonard Bundu, and now because of the backlash and the long wait for a “name” we may have awoken a sleeping giant who now has been given a “named” fighter and this particular “named” fighter was also a former opponent of the king of boxing right now Floyd Mayweather.
Keith Thurman now has the opportunity to put on a better performance than Floyd and possibly by Knock Out to prove who he is in the sport and if Thurman succeeds than Marcos Maidana another tough welter weight fighter cannot turn Keith down for a fourth time and that fight can also finally happen with a second former recent Floyd Mayweather opponent on the Thurman resume. I’m Excited!!
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