Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, undefeated WBA World Welterweight Champion, made a huge statement when he defeated top contender Shawn Porter on June 25th, at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. However brilliant in the ring that night, Thurman made even bigger statements with his mouth after the fight. First, Thurman acknowledged the fact that it was a tough, close fight with Porter; who suffered his second loss in a close decision to a world class fight (Kell Brook was the fight). In the post-fight interview, Thurman immediately uttered the word rematch; a practice many boxing contemporaries and all-time greats were not so eager to do after a close fight.
As great as Muhammad Ali was, and the claim that he ducked nobody is genuine, The Greatest was not eager to grant George Foreman a rematch after he rope-a-doped the powerful champion in Africa. Carlos Palomino reported to me that the very eccentric father of Wilfred Benitez, forced his son the other way when the word rematch came up. This was despite the fact that Palomino was promised a rematch. Roy Jones Jr. avoided Bernard Hopkins like the plague during while the public demanded a rematch. Roy’s logic for not taking that fight (one of the dullest of all time) was that he already beat him. Roy did fight Bernard years later when nobody wanted to see it (yes, they managed to put on an even worse fight the second time). When Zab Judah was asked if he was interested in granting Lucas Matthysse a rematch, after winning a razor close decision, Zab scoffed at the idea, claiming, “why would I want to do that I beat him already’. Thurman did not take the ‘been there, done that’ moniker after the Porter victory when he very well could have.
Thurman shined again when he dubbed the term Pay Per View as an obscene phrase. Thurman not only wants to fight the best in the 147-pound division, he wants to do it on free TV, as was his crackerjack showdown with Porter. Again, Thurman goes against the grain of his boxing contemporaries. Superstars like Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao have participated in highway robbery of the boxing fans; asking them to shell out big bucks for horrible fights such as Alfredo Angulo, Amir Kahn, Chris Algieri and Timothy Bradley for the third time (I passed on all with pride). Floyd Mayweather Jr. asked his fans to cough up an arm and a leg, and a couple of lungs, to watch his farewell performance against Andre Berto, a fighter who did not appear on the short wish list of any fan. Much can be debated about Mayweather, however, I do not think anyone would debate with me that Floyd would just as soon have his tongue cut out before uttering the words “boxing on free TV”. Not even One Time.
Keith Thurman is cut from a different cloth, even more so than what boxers are already. Even if his quest to continue to fight on free TV does not come to full fruition, it is clear where his desire is. There is a reason why people who have not watched boxing in years are still talking about the Main Event that took place in their living rooms on June 25th, the great action that occurred in the ring is only the half of it. Whether it is a Shawn Porter in a rematch, or Danny Garcia in a battle of undefeated champions, Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman’s next fight will be front and centre. Many fighters can learn from him.
Listen to the latest Ringnews24 Boxing Radio Show here: Ringnews24 Boxing Radio
