By Daniel Hughes: I will be the first to hold my hand up and admit the fighters I have always followed and enjoyed watching are pressure fighters. I also enjoy those with heavy hands, the fighters that can turn a fight on one shot. The divisions I believe that will currently throw up great fights, the fights the fans want are both the light welterweight and welterweight categories.
The names in both divisions you can make your minds up on who will provide the best fights. Many potential fights out there we would all like to see. These divisions have the potential to on a worldwide scale produce the kind of excitement that will showcase boxing a sport that hinders itself by the politics of who you are signed to.
Those same issues that to the regular fan have no idea how much it holds boxing back from becoming as prominent as it used to be decades ago. The end of May we have a real money making fight in the UK with the Carl Froch vs. George Groves rematch. There’s some real interest and real revenue here. The interest I hope fight fans stateside and worldwide watch it regardless of the big picture. We know that WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward is the top dog at 168lb. It is about boxing continuing to have fights that no matter where you live, and who you follow who you enjoy watching a spectacle that at its finest you can’t beat in the boxing ring.
The potential mix to make exciting fights in both divisions between 140-147lb is there. The money on offer for the right fights should satisfy all that are eligible to serve what all fight fans want, exciting fights. The need for boxing as a sport to generate the interest of the wider public, the people that will buy, or let’s say buy into a hyped fight always needed.
The fighter that has as yet not been given the online and written inches he deserves is to me the 147lb orthodox KO artist Florida born Keith Thurman (23-0, 21 KO’s). Thurman, 25, really does in my view have it all in his locker to provide the type of performances and fights that would excite even the most hard to please fan, let alone the casual watcher.
Thurman has the influential adviser Al Haymon behind him. Showtime must know they have a fighter that can be built into someone that can deliver exciting fights on the big stage, against top rated opponents. How well known can Thurman become? Sadly, it again comes back to how he is showcased. The feeling I get seems to be Thurman is the fighter that most contenders and champions would like to avoid at 147lb. Let’s find out if that is the case. I believe Keith Thurman deserves to get those bigger fights, and I think he has a massive upside. If given the chance, he could certainly be talked about more than One Time.
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