By Chris Williams: Keith Thurman says he’s not ducking a fight against Errol Spence Jr. ‘One Time’ Thurman states that he has never seen a contract offer from Spence (26-0, 21 KOs), which means he never contacted their mutual adviser Al Haymon to have set up a fight.
Thurman says he’s not afraid to fight anyone. He likes competing against the best, but there’s nothing he can do if a fighter doesn’t put effort into making a fight.
WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford is another fighter that Thurman has no qualms about fighting, but he’s a lower priority than Spence. Crawford hasn’t beaten many names since he moved up to 147 in 2018.
The only notable guy that Crawford has fought is Amir Khan at welterweight. Thurman isn’t saying who he wants to fight next other than talking about a rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
Spence has done more at 147 than Crawford
“They’re both great fights,” said Thurman on social media when asked about fighting Spence or Crawford. “I give priority to fighting Spence. “He’s unified champion right now.
“I think he’s done more in the welterweight division [than Crawford]. He’s [Spence] someone I’ve had my eyes on for a long time. Crawford moved into the welterweight division and showcased his skills and talent constantly. But he hasn’t gotten too many names at 147.
“One of the best names that he was recently able to defeat was Amir Khan. But I’m all for that fight too. I love that fight. I’ve known that guy [Crawford] since we were in the amateurs.
“He’s known me since we were in the amateurs. Seeing him at the top level, seeing what he brings, and knowing I’ve never been able to share the ring with him. I’ve never shared a sparring session. Not even a sparring session by any means,” said Thurman.
It’s academic that Crawford has done ZERO at 147. He’s beaten a bunch of no-names since he moved up to welterweight, and he’s not showing any signs of improving the low level of competition he’s been facing.
Thurman wanted Pacquiao fight to go 15 rounds
“I’m just looking forward to it. I love the competition,” said Thurman. “You think I don’t love the competition. I bring this to you. And I signed the dotted line. I signed the contract. And I take another black eye. I enjoy it. In the Pacquiao fight, I wanted round 13. I wanted round 14; I wanted round 15, I wanted to be in the colosseum, and I wanted to fight to the death.
“There is no stop. There is only go, you know? It’s real love for the sport. You just don’t get to this level without having a love for the sport. Just like other fighters, you can get fed up. You can get worn down and kind of tired. At this level, we never avoid fights,” said Thurman.
The part where Thurman says he was willing to the “death” is going a bit overboard. Thurman wasn’t ready to fight until the death in a sporting event with the 41-year-old Pacquiao. Thurman came up short because he didn’t do enough in the first six rounds.
If Thurman wants the rematch with Pacquiao, then he needs to start calling him out to let him know. Thurman’s main competition Mikey Garcia calling out Pacquiao night and day, making him and the boxing public know that he wants that fight.
If Mikey’s voice is the only one that Pacquiao hears, he might elect to fight him by default. It’s not that Mikey is a better option than the other guys at 147. It’s more of a case of Mikey sounding desperate and needy for the fight with Pacquiao.
Spence never asked for the fight – Thurman
“I never avoided Spence,” said Thurman. “I’ve never seen a contract. I’ve never legitimately been offered. He can say what he wants to say after each and every fight. He never went to Al Haymon and said, ‘Al, write the dang contract. show it to me and show it to Keith.’ When I asked for Danny [Garcia], I got Danny.
“When I asked for Shawn [Porter], I got Shawn. I only called one man, and his name is Al Haymon. And I didn’t have to do a lot. I didn’t have to get on Twitter. And I didn’t have to talk to you to make the fight happen. I didn’t have to talk to other outlets. That’s what I tell people. When people really want to fight, they can pretty much get the fight or request the fight.
“And if the fight is requested and I say, ‘No,’ then that’s a duck. Then that’s a dodge. We were almost talking about the Crawford fight, but I had Pacquiao in sight. It didn’t matter who I had in view. I wouldn’t have taken Errol Spence over Pacquiao. He’s a legend, and he brings something to the table that none of the undefeated welterweight champions do,” said Thurman.
If Spence never asked Haymon for the Thurman fight, then he has no room to be mad that the fight never got made. Spence says he doesn’t rate Thurman high on his hit list for future fights because he never fought him all these years.
But if Spence never contacted Haymon to try and make the fight, then who’s fault is that? Spence should have been more proactive if he wanted to fight Thurman. Instead of blaming it on him, he should have called Haymon and told him to make an offer to Thurman.
