By Cameron Gillon
WAR IN THE MAKING
WBA interim welterweight world champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) has an upcoming defense against Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero on March 7th on one of Al Haymon’s ‘Premier Boxing Champions’ cards, that will be broadcast on live free TV for fans around the world.
This is the type of fight Thurman has been looking at for quite some time after spending years facing lower tier competition due to the big names at welterweight not wanting to fight him because of a high risk low reward factor. Thurman still isn’t a huge name in the casual fan’s eye but this fight against Guerrero will certainly improve his fan base with a win.
“We were cordial today at the @premierboxing announcement, but I’m gonna knock @GHOSTBOXING out on March 7!” Thurman said on Twitter.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO DATE FOR THURMAN
This is no doubt this is the toughest fight of Keith Thurman’s career so far. He is coming off the back of an impressive 12 round unanimous decision victory over Italian Leonard Bundu in December. Thurman showed his underrated boxing talent in the bout by knocking Bundu down in the first round and then boxing smartly using his range, speed, boxing skill and impressive upper body movement to stay out of trouble and win the fight on all three judges scorecards. Bundu was previously an unbeaten fighter as a professional before the bout and a former Olympian after he took part in the games in 2000.
Keith Thurman spent most of 2014 out on the sidelines due to a minor shoulder injury that needed time away to rehab the problem. Thurman said he could of carried on fighting with the injury but felt he needed to take time out now and heel it properly, so it does not become a constant problem in the future when he is hunting down one of the coveted world titles in the division, held by Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquaio and Kell Brook.
Keith Thurman is best known for his incredible one punch knockout power, Thurman has stopped some recognizable named in Carlos Quintana, Julio Diaz, Jesus Soto Karass and Diego Chaves in his career so far. Some of these fighters are former world champions of title challengers with impressive resumes and skill in the ring and Thurman finished them all inside the distance of the bouts.
PLENTY ON THE LINE FOR BOTH MEN
Guerrero was last in action for a hard-fought unanimous decision over Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai in June to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to RING 147-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2013. Guerrero is hoping to get back in the mix with Floyd Mayweather and the world champions at welterweight again.
People who are not that familiar with Robert Guerrero – he is a six time world champion in a blitzing four different divisions. Guerrero has a fantastic boxing brain behind him and a great Ring IQ. He knows how to avoid getting into trouble in the ring and can sustain a lot of punishment when he chooses to go toe to toe with his opponent.
Keith Thurman knows if he was to stop an opponent that has been in with Floyd Mayweather Jr and look better doing so, then that will elevate him to the top of the tree in the division. Thurman is mandatory challenger for the WBA welterweight title and sooner or later that challenge will be ordered to be negotiated and we will be seeing Thurman in a world title fight in the near future if he carries on winning.
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