By Craig Daly: Former unified welterweight champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman says he’s willing to fight the young upstart Conor Benn but he wants to see the money & the contract.
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) points out that he’s not a gatekeeper type of fighter, and is capable of going toe-to-toe with unbeaten welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford.
It’s unclear if Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) is serious about wanting to fight Thurman or if he was just talking to get boxing fans interested in him without taking the risk.
If Benn is serious about the Thurman fight, he should direct his promoter Eddie Hearn to begin talks. It will help if Hearn has the kind of money available that he’ll need to entice Thurman to fight Benn.
“I had to Google what his face looks like, so I kind of have an image now,” said Keith Thurman to Fight Hub TV about Conor Benn. “He’s a London boy, a European fighter?
“It seems like he has a decent boxing background, coming from a fighting family. I don’t know enough about the kid. You see that I was inactive. I really wanted to have a fight this summer.
“That’s why I’m getting my weight ready because we’re going to have something before this year is over. But anybody that says my name, you know what you really got to do. Talk that issue if you want to talk that itch.
“If you talk hard enough, I might have to talk back because I can only let people do so much. I might have done three days of silence but it doesn’t mean I’m out here trying to be silent. I’m all about good fights. I’m all about contracts.
“If his [Benn] management has a contract and a legitimate payday. Anytime they say, ‘Thurman won’t fight this young fighter.’ I’ll fight all the young fighters; I’ll fight them all.
“The only thing is, I love great fights, I love good contracts. So if the money is there on the table, the date is good and we can make it happen. I’ve never fought overseas. It might entice me. I love doing something new.
“I just schooled one young blood. I don’t mind. I’m not a gatekeeper. I’m a real one. I have the capacity to go toe-to-toe with these undefeated champions right now,” said Thurman.
