By Allan Fox: Despite barely beating Shawn Porter last month in their fight on June 25, WBA World welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) now believes he’s a star in the 147lb division.
Thurman, 27, says Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are both in the past, and he’s now part of the new generation of fighters. Thurman sees a shift going on with fans as they now are starting to realize that Mayweather and Pacquiao are part of the old guard that are gone, and that he is now one of the guys that will be taking their place.
Thurman’s fight against Porter was very, very close with him winning by the scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 115-113. If Thurman is going to be the guy that takes over for Mayweather and Pacquiao, then it would seem that the sport is about to go through a weak era with a lesser fighter taking over by default over more talented guys that have left boxing through retirement.
“I think we’re creating a shift right now; we’re creating a shift and we’re doing healthy things for the sport of boxing and just making it the sport that it is and knowing that it’s up to the fighter to prove that he is the best in the world,” Thurman said to FightHype.com. “Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, they’re not the future no more. We’ve tapped into the next generation and Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman is at the forefront of this new generation, man, and obviously I bring exciting fights and the fight fans should be looking forward to what the future of boxing is going to look like.”
Just because Thurman says he’s the next generation doesn’t necessarily mean that’s so. Thurman barely beat Porter, a flawed welterweight that had already been exposed by Kell Brook two years ago in 2014. Thurman was running at times from Porter, and it was not as exciting as it could have been if he just stood in front of him and beat him in that manner.
Say what you want about Mayweather and Pacquiao, they at least stood in front of their opponents for the most part and weren’t seen running around the ring while being chased. We saw that at times in the Thurman-Porter fight with Thurman running from Porter and looking to catch him with shots while on the move. I don’t think Thurman can become a star while fighting like that because it’s not entertaining.
Thurman needs to beat the likes of Brook, Errol Spence, Danny Garcia, Jessie Vargas and Tim Bradey for him to say he’s the new star in the division. If he only beats one of them, it won’t be enough. I don’t think Thurman can beat Spence at all, period. That’s just a bad match-up for Thurman, and he could ruin his popularity if he takes that fight because it would look bad if he’s running from Spence the entire fight.
Thurman couldn’t stand and fight a guy like Spence the way he briefly did at times against Porter, because Spence is too powerful and too good of a body puncher. Thurman’s adviser is Al Haymon, and I don’t think he’s going to put him in with Spence for a long, long time if ever. Haymon would obviously know that if he lets Thurman fight Spence, he’ll very likely get knocked out, and that would ruin the “One Time” brand.
I think Thurman is being brought along by Haymon in the same way that Danny Garcia is with careful match-making against opponents where Thurman is the clear favorite to win. I don’t think Thurman would be the favorite against Spence, which is why I don’t see that fight happening until Thurman is made to look like a star with favorable match-making that makes him look better than he actually is.
It’s troubling that Thurman keeps mentioning Mayweather’s name so often in his interviews, as if by mentioning his name often enough, it’ll transfer him into the spot that Mayweather once occupied as the best fighter in the sport. It doesn’t work like that. If Thurman wants to be the best, then he needs to get on Haymon’s case to put him in with Spence, Bradley, Vargas, Brook and Garcia.
While Thurman is at it, he should have Haymon match him against with Porter in a rematch. This time, Thurman needs to fight without running around the ring, because that was not a star-like performance from someone you expect to take the baton from Mayweather and Pacquiao. The sport doesn’t need a runner. The sport needs exciting fighters in the Gennady “GGG” Golovkin mold.