A
storyline that emerges in the sport of Boxing from time to time is one of a
hungry young fighter working his way through the ranks and along the way being
touted as the future of his division. One might argue that such a scenario may
perfectly describe undefeated Welterweight contender Keith Thurman.
Thurman’s
rise up the division has seen him earn a reputation as one of the division’s
feared power punchers registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 82%.
Thurman compiled a record of 25-0, with 22 Knockouts and along the way earned
interim/regular champion status in the WBA’s Welterweight ratings. Thurman has
scored notable wins over the likes of Diego Chaves, Jesus Soto Karass, Julio
Diaz, and Robert Guerrero.
This led
up to Thurman’s clash against former WBA Welterweight world champion Luis
Collazo on July 11th at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida. Some observers,
this one included felt that Collazo would be the toughest test for Thurman thus
far, despite Thurman being heavily favored to win the fight.
What
impressed me about Thurman’s performance in this fight was his ability to
dictate the pace, get his punches off first, and his effectiveness with his
counter punching against a fighter in Collazo who is a slick boxer. Although
Thurman is known for being a power puncher, he is also very tactical in his
approach and in this fight was able to execute a well-balanced attack to the
body and head often landing his punches in combination.
Collazo
however, was able to provide some resistance to Thurman and did manage to hurt
Thurman late in the fifth round with a left hook to the body. Collazo was able
to somewhat build on the success that he had in the fifth round in rounds six
and seven by pressing forward and periodically landing to the body and head of
Thurman.
The fight
however, would come to a conclusion at the end of round seven as Collazo
stopped the fight saying that he could not see due to a cut over the right eye
that was ruled to have been caused by an accidental clash of heads earlier in
the fight. The win for Thurman, his twenty sixth consecutive victory maintains
his position in the WBA’s Welterweight ratings in what was an overall
impressive performance.
Following
the fight Thurman called out current WBC/WBA Welterweight world champion Floyd
Mayweather for a potential fight. Whether or not Thurman, who still holds
interim/regular champion status in the WBA Welterweight ratings and should be
in position for a mandatory challenge of Mayweather’s title gets that opportunity
remains to be seen.
There have
been ramblings this week however, that Mayweather’s next fight, which could be
his final fight that is tentatively scheduled for September 12th may possibly be
against former WBC Welterweight world champion Andre Berto. What makes this
interesting is the rumor that has been circulating through several media outlets
including Fox Sports and the Washington Post that this fight may not be
televised on cable/satellite pay-per-view in the United States as has been the
norm for many of Mayweather’s bouts over the last decade, but will instead be
televised by CBS.
Mayweather’s
bout on September 12th will be the last of a lucrative six fight contract with
CBS/Showtime that began with Mayweather’s bout against Robert Guerrero in May
of 2013. Although Mayweather’s bout against Manny Pacquiao in May of this year
broke all existing pay-per-view records generating more than 4.4 million
pay-per-view buys in the United States and generating nearly $400 million in
pay-per-view revenue, the fight also suffered some backlash in the days following
it from spectators, both who attended the fight as well as those who paid $100
for the HD broadcast of the fight and $80 for the Standard Definition broadcast
who felt they did not get their money’s worth.
An
argument that some could make is if Mayweather’s fight on September 12th is
indeed broadcast in the United States by CBS that it could be an attempt by
CBS/Showtime to avoid further backlash. One should consider however, that a
problem that may be present for Mayweather as well as CBS/Showtime could be difficulty
in finding an opponent that will convince consumers who felt they did not get
their money’s worth from the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to spend more money on
another pay-per-view event that would likely be priced between $70 and $80 if
not higher.
Although
Mayweather’s opponent for his September 12th fight has not been officially
announced as of this writing, this observer believes that Keith Thurman
deserves an opportunity to show what he can do against the fighter who was
widely considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world. After all,
Thurman is an undefeated fighter who has earned through his interim/regular
champion status a title shot against Mayweather.
Even
though Mayweather was recently stripped of the WBO title that he won against
Manny Pacquiao, and despite Mayweather’s statements following that fight that
he intended to relinquish all the world titles he holds in both the Welterweight
and Jr. Middleweight divisions, this observer believes a fight between
Mayweather and Thurman would be one that Boxing fans and experts alike would
support. A fight that presents a storyline of a division kingpin defending his
crown against a fighter who many consider to be the future of the division.
Regardless
of whether Mayweather’s fight on September 12th is televised in the United
States on pay-per-view as has been the norm or CBS, if it will ultimately prove
to be the last time Mayweather enters the ring as a fighter, it would be a
shame if Boxing fans were left feeling unsatisfied again as was widely the case
following Mayweather’s victory over Manny Pacquiao. It would be an even bigger
shame in this observer’s eyes if Thurman were not the fighter standing across the
ring from Mayweather on that night. Simply put, he deserves the opportunity.
“And That’s
The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing
Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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