By Jaime Ortega: Keith Thurman displayed beautiful boxing ability and ring control on Saturday night. Danny Garcia tried to intimidate Thurman throwing hooks with his flat footed pressure, but was overwhelmed by Thurman’s awkward and unpredictable foot movement which keep him missing and second guessing at times.
Thurman is now the unified Champion of the welterweight division and promises to deliver more great fights to the fans who support his style – and achievement only accomplished by Floyd Mayweather Jr. before he retired.
By beating Danny, Thurman has now officially entered hostile territory and a pool infested with hungry sharks who want to dethrone the new unified champion.
Thurman might possible face the winner of Manny Pacquiao versus Amir Khan for the WBO belt. Pacquiao will likely beat Khan, and will have to step up and face Thurman or the winner of Kell Brook versus Errol Spence Jr – most likely Pacquiao will face Thurman, since facing the winner of the IBF belt will promise to be a higher risk.
Thurman versus Pacquiao will be a great fight, and one to remember. Pacquiao convincingly beat Jessie Vargas, a young aggressive fighter who Brook ducked to fight GGG. Pacquiao still remains a threat to the welterweight division and would give Thurman lots of trouble with his quickness and awkward movement; however, Thurman possesses the power and versatility to hurt Pacquiao and retire him for good — It’s a 50/50 fight, one cannot underestimate Pacquiao.
Thurman might also face the winner of Errol Spence versus Kell Brook. Whomever snatches the IBF tittle will surely become the biggest threat Thurman has faced to date. Spence and Brook would give Thurman lots of trouble, Spence possesses the jab and necessary power to stop Thurman, and Brook possesses the jab and power to range find Thurman. But one thing I have noticed is that Thurman possesses great ring IQ, and he is the smartest fighter in the welterweight division. I truly believe Thurman can outbox Spence and Brook, and has the necessary power to upset and outsmart anyone with his awkward style. I still give Spence or Brook a slight advantage over Thurman because they don’t really belong in the welterweight division and are known for fighting at 170lbs, the day of the fight, yet I strongly believe an upset might be a very likely scenario.
Timothy Bradley versus Keith Thurman would be an entertaining fight. Bradley is a respected veteran in the welterweight division and knows how to box. Bradley would not be afraid to exchange with Thurman and wouldn’t back down. But outside of Ruslan Provodnikov, and perhaps Diego Chaves, Bradley hasn’t faced a power puncher like Thurman, and remains highly unlikely that Bradley would survive unpunished if he faced Thurman’s power.
Another threat and now contender for the WBA belt is Tewa Kiram, a Thai boxer product of the new talent pool that has recently emerged in Asia. Kiram remains an unknown factor in the boxing world, he has only faced Russians, Kazakhs, Thais, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos which he has deposed without problem, but has yet to rumble with an American fighter with a household name. Kiram has the fastest jab in the welterweight division, and has a naturally built defensive body figure that is hard to crack – short legs with larger upper body and arms that naturally cover his body and face. He might be another Asian scam, he might be another hype job, but he looks dangerous and I strongly suspect he could really give problems to any elite welterweight including Thurman. Thurman is likely to face him very soon and I wouldn’t sleep on Kiram.
Lamont Peterson might also face Thurman. Lamont Peterson has great boxing ability, but sometimes he just seems like he is not there, or he wakes up on the middle of the fight trying to catch up with the gift rounds he gave his opponent. Peterson is a progressive fighter and slow starter. Peterson could beat Thurman on points, but like Bradley he lacks the power to intimidate Thurman. Thurman is likely to knock out Peterson cold if his defense is caught off-guard.
All in all, Thurman new trajectory is faced with hard challenges coming from all directions. Thurman has the charisma of a legend, and has the boxing IQ to achieve great goals, but the road is rocky and full with challenges. One thing we learned about Thurman versus Garcia, is that Thurman can use his boxing skills to deactivate fighters with great amateur pedigree like Garcia and make them look one dimensional and ordinary. Can he do that with the rest of boxers in his division? We shall see!
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