By Dan Ambrose: Undefeated WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) wants a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr before he steps away from the game. Thurman sees a victory over Mayweather as the perfect send off for the 37-year-old superstar fighter for him to retire on.
Thurman, 26, sees Mayweather as an old man and he wants the privilege of beating him, because he thinks a victory over him would be a great lift to his career.
Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of Floyd Jr, doesn’t see Thurman as anything special, and he believes that Thurman is a very average fighter who may lose his fight against Robert “The Ghost’ Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) in their fight on May 7th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I want Mayweather,” said Thurman via RingTV.com. “I want the top dog. He’s getting old and I want to fight him before he retires.”
Calling Mayweather old may have struck a nerve with Jeff M, because he took a couple of shots at Thurman in summing up what he sees of him.
“I think he’s [Thurman] average. He can punch a little bit, but he hasn’t fought anybody,” Jeff Mayweather said to Husleboss. “The barking and woofing don’t mean nothing. Beat a real fighter. Beat [Robert] Guerrero and then you’ve beat a fighter that’s done something.”
Jeff is correct though. Thurman really hasn’t beaten anyone yet that you can call a really special fighter, and much has made of him despite the fact that his best wins of his career have come against Julio Diaz, Diego Chaves, Jesus Soto Karass, Jan Zaveck and Leonard Bundu. Thurman’s performance against Bundu was arguably his worst of his career, as Thurman ran from the Italy based fighter for 12 rounds, and fought timidly.
This was Thurman’s toughest opponent of his career, but it was a far cry from guys like Kell Brook, Mayweather, Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao. If Thurman reacted like this in fighting the 40-year-old Bundu, then the question is how would Thurman react when put in against better opposition with more power and youth going for them? Mayweather and Pacquiao aren’t much younger than Bundu, but they are faster with better power and talent. It would be a poor sight if Thurman had to run from those fighters all night.
The Thurman-Guerrero fight will definitely be a real test for Thurman, because he not only has to win the fight, but he has to win without running. The fight will be likely watched by a huge audience due to the fight being televised on NBC on Premier Boxing. If Thurman runs from Guerrero in winning a decision, it’ll look bad in the eyes of a lot of fans, and it might count just as much as a loss.
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