Keith Thurman will upset Tim Tszyu on March 30th, predicts Mayweather Promotions CEO & boxing expert Leonard Ellerbe. He feels that former WBA & WBC welterweight champion Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) is the better boxer and, surprisingly, the superior puncher than the unbeaten WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs).
Ellerbe agrees that the 35-year-old Thurman is coming off a long layoff with this fight, but he points out that he’s never shown ring rust in the last time he’s returned from years of inactivity.
That said, a fighter can only go to the well so many times. When you sit inactive for years at a time over a seven-year period, as Thurman has done, it catches up to you.
The main reason Thurman hasn’t paid the price is that two of the three fights he’s had during that time were soft touches against Mario Barrios and Josesito Lopez.
Those were weak enough fighters where Thurman could get away with coming off a two-year layoff. In Thurman’s only fight against a good opponent in the last seven years against 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao in 2019, he lost.
“I think he’ll be more comfortable at this weight [154], and more importantly, Keith is a good fighter,” said Leonard Ellerbe to Fighthype about his belief that Keith Thurman will defeat Tim Tszyu on March 30th.
“Yes, Thurman has been very inactive. But coming off these long layoffs, when has he had some ring rust? Tszyu is going to have some problems with him on that night. He hasn’t seen anyone like Keith Thurman,” Ellerbe continued.
“I was shocked on my way over here. They have Tszyu as an 8 to 1 favorite? Are they crazy? Keith Thurman is a live dog in this fight. Me, I’m picking him to win the fight. Tszyu is a good fighter, but he ain’t nothing like that.
“For those who don’t understand the sport. This guy [Tszyu] is not unbeatable. He’s not unhittable. Who’s the biggest puncher in this fight? Who is the better boxer? How is he going to deal with the movement?
“Who is the master of how to box on the move and do all those kind of things? The experience is going to come into play. I’ve seen him [Tszyu] on the canvas. Gausha dropped him.
“This guy’s [Thurman] body is preserved. He wanted this fight. They’re saying he’s cashing out. Wrong,” said Ellerbe about Thurman.
