By Dan Ambrose: Newly crowned WBA World welterweight champion Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) says he’ll be looking to be the first fighter to KO former two division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) in their fight on March 7th in this Premier Boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Guerrero, #2 WBC, #4 WBA, #7 IBF, has never been knocked out before during his 14-year pro career so it would be a big deal if the 26-year-old Thurman were able to get a stoppage win over Guerrero. But for Thurman to accomplish that task, he’s going to need to stay in the pocket more than he has in his previous fights.
Thurman won’t be able to get a knockout by hitting Guerrero with left hooks while retreating backwards like he typically does in his fights. Thurman will need to stand his ground and risk his own chin, which isn’t the sturdiest, for him to have a chance of knocking Guerrero out.
Robert’s never been stopped and when I hear a fighter’s never been stopped, I hear that as a challenge,” Thurman said on Wednesday. “We’re looking for a fight that lasts less than twelve rounds, but we’ll be prepared no matter what the outcome…I’m going to do a little wrestling in my training camp…he’s not going to be able to surprise me by roughhousing me on the inside.”
Thurman isn’t likely to get a knockout if he throws his usual one punch at a time shots that he likes to do. He’s going to need to be able to stay in front of Guerrero long enough to throw a lot of hard shots in the form of combinations, and I’m not sure that Thurman is up to that task. He doesn’t like to get hit, and you’ve got to be willing to get hit a lot if you’re going to knockout a guy with a chin like Guerrero.
Guerrero stood up to the big punching Yoshihiro Kamegai’s hard shots for 12 rounds in his last fight in June of last year. Kamegai can punch about as hard as Thurman. The only difference is that Thurman has better hand speed than Kamegai, but their punching power is pretty much identical. If Thurman is stronger, it’s not by much.
Guerrero took a lot of punishment in the Kamegai fight, but he also dished out a lot as well in throwing a massive of punches. If Thurman wants to score a KO of Guerrero, he’s going to need to be willing to stand in front of Guerrero for long stretches of time for him to get his shots off, and even then I have serious doubts that Thurman can get the job done.
Thurman’s boxing stock dropped badly in his last fight against Leonard Bundu last December when Thurman fan from the 40-year-old Bundu for most of the fight. When Thurman did land shots, he was always quick to run away immediately in order not to get hit. It wasn’t a Mayweather-esque performance from Thurman. Mayweather at least stands in the pocket against his opposition. Thurman was outright running from Bundu, and it was really off putting.
“Unlike Mayweather, I like diversity. I want to fight the boxers, I want to fight the punchers, I want to fight the world, baby!” Thurman said.
Adrien Broner will be facing John Molina on the Thurman-Guerrero card in light welterweight action. The fight card will be televised on NBC at 8:30PM ET/5:30PM PT.
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