Mario ‘El Azteca’ Barrios 26-1 (17) is expecting the best version of Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman 29-1 (22) to turn up when they clash at thr Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 5.
The 33-year-old Thurman from Clearwater, Florida, will be having his first bout in two-and-a-half years after losing his WBA welterweight title to Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in July 2019.
“Although Thurman has been out of the ring for a couple of years, I know he’s been training hard for this fight and will be in great shape,” Barrios said.
“He’s been one of the best fighters of our era and I expect him to be at his very best. I know what needs to be done on my end and I believe I can execute the game plan we have in place. We both like to let our hands go, so fans can definitely expect to see an explosive fight on February 5.”
Barrios is coming off a loss himself. Last June he was stopped in the 11th round by Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in a 140-pound fight. The 5-foot-10 Barrios will move up to 147-pounds to face Thurman.
“Making the move to welterweight is going to be very important for me at this stage in my career,” Barrios said.
“I’ve grown into my man strength and it has been difficult making 140 pounds for these last few years. The extra seven pounds is going to make a tremendous difference in my weight cut, because I’m still big for this weight as well.
“In this fight we’re going to see if my power comes up with me. I’m confident that it will.”
Barrios says he is in tip-top shape for the fight and is expecting an all-out war.
“I’m having an incredible training camp,” he said. “I’ve stayed in shape since my last fight and headed to the Bay Area to start camp with Virgil Hunter about three weeks ago. I’ve now moved camp to Las Vegas where I’ll finish off that last couple of weeks until the fight.
“My sparring has gotten me into perfect condition and I know that I’ll be ready for war come fight night.”
The fight will be shown live on Fox Sports PBC pay-per-view.
“I’m grateful to my whole team for giving me this opportunity to fight on pay-per-view once again,” Barrios said.
“I think I’ve proven myself to the fans that I’m a warrior in the ring who will always give a great performance. This fight will be no different, as I’m going into the ring to lay punishment on my opponent.
“Everyone should order this fight now, because I don’t think this one is going the distance.”
The telecast will also feature four-division champion Leo ‘El Terremoto’ Santa Cruz 37-2-1 (19) squaring off against Keenan ‘Bedo’ Carbajal 23-2-1 (15) in the co-main event of the four-fight lineup.
