Thurman: Mayweather can’t rumble in the jungle with this young lion

By Boxing News - 09/17/2015 - Comments

thurman5By Dan Ambrose: WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) thinks he’s got the knowledge to crack the May-Vinci code to give Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) his first loss of his career if he ever gives him the chance to fight him. But Thurman, 26, is reversing the talk by asking whether Mayweather has the ability to solve the Thurman question.

Thurman says no one has answered the question in his 22 fights as a pro. Thurman is confident that if Mayweather comes back in 2016 and faces him, he’ll defeat him. Mayweather hasn’t given any indication whether he’ll be returning to the ring next year to fight at this point.

It’s assumed that Mayweather will return to the ring in search for his 50th win and one last big payday. But it’s a real stretch of the imagination to think that Mayweather would select Thurman as his opponent rather than someone like Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Mayweather would lose a lot of money in lost pay-per-view sales if he was to fight Thurman, because he’s not a big name in the boxing world yet. Thurman is only known by the hardcore boxing fans of the sport. The casual fans don’t know about Thurman, and wouldn’t likely be interested in dumping their hard-earned money down the drain to pay $75 to see Mayweather fight an obscure fighter like him.

“I’m 26-0 with 22 knockouts, and I’m the most devastating and entertaining welterweight in the world today,” Thurman said to Fighthype. “I do believe I have what it takes to beat the May-Vinci code. Mayweather is just a man, and I believe I’m the man to beat him,” Thurman said.

Thurman really needs to still prove himself because at this point he’s not beaten anyone other than mostly old lions of the sport. Thurman did beat Diego Chaves, but that’s not saying much. Chaves is in the same league as Brandon Rios talent wise. Thurman didn’t even dominate Chaves. Thurman was staggered at one point in the fight. Thurman’s other major wins have come against Carlos Quintana, Robert Guerrero, Luis Collazo, Leonard Bundu and Jesus Soto Karass.

“That’s the question [whether Mayweather can crack the Thurman code]. Everyone talks Mayweather and breaking the code like it’s an algebra problem, but we got the Keith Thurman test,” said Thurman. “It’s been around since I was 16-years-old. To this day they’re not passing it. No one in the welterweight division has passed it, and I don’t think Mayweather has what it takes to pass it. I really think it’s the youth vs. the aged, you know? Yes, he’s wise, but I really don’t think he can rumble in the jungle with this young lion, Man,” Thurman added.

In the biggest fights I’ve seen Thurman involved in, he looks like a one-dimensional pot shot fighter who is incapable of standing in the pocket and fighting like Mayweather and the other top welterweights. Thurman throws one shot and then retreats like he doesn’t have any faith in his chin or his defensive ability.

Thurman needs to forget about Mayweather and look to fight Shawn Porter and Errol Spence instead. It’s going to be up to Thurman and his adviser Al Haymon who he fights in the future. Thurman says that he was only given one option by Haymon for his fight against Collazo. But Thurman needs to make sure he pushes Haymon to start matching him against quality opponents, because his lack of quality opposition is probably keeping him from becoming a star.

Thurman isn’t going to become a star fighting on Premier Boxing Champions against the likes of Soto Karass, Bundu, Guerrero and Jan Zaveck.



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