Former WBC and IBF doubleweight champion Keith Thurman claimed that when he defeated Mario Barrios on February 5, 2022, he would choose one of Errol Spence and Terence Crawford. Thurman's statement is not domineering, and the question is whether he will challenge one of Spence and Crawford as he wishes.
Thurman said that for Spence and Crawford, he did not prefer one side, but hoped to promote a big war. Of course, Thurman also admitted that the work needs to be solved by his agent, Al-Haymon.
If Thurman wants to play against Spence and Crawford, he must first defeat former WBA ordinary super lightweight champion Barrios in February next year, which will be Thurman's first game in 31 months, and it is difficult to predict how he will be?
Thurman has said that although he has not appeared on stage since losing to Manny Pacquiao in July 2019, his form is not as bad as expected, and Thurman even believes that this is a rare "physical rest".
Thurman and Pacquiao were considered to be only 70% in form, and earlier in a previous clash with quasi-second-rate boxer Jose Cito Lopez, Thurman had just finished 22 months of recuperation, in short, his competition density was extremely low for many years.
Can you imagine how much of a loss to Thurman was without playing in such a long time? Maybe the next battle with Barrios, his state is only 50%, if Thurman upsets and loses to Barrios, it will show a good problem, that is, the boxer loses training, the motivation to play, and then completely collapses in slackness, in short, you can't come back and retire after 2-3 years of recuperation, and you will ruin yourself in the repetition.
Thurman said: "If I come back in boxing next year, I will receive 1-3 checks, I will play three games, I am ready, after such a long time, I want to go to work. I haven't finished talking, it's a good thing to be away from the boxing ring, during this time I didn't get beaten up and stayed in good shape because there was other work to do. ”
Thurman continued: "The sub-middleweights are stacked, I'm not an active champion, but anyone facing Thurman is under a lot of pressure because I'm a tough challenge. They can beat me, they can do anything to me, so I'm going to go back to the field and remind people that Thurman is back and I'm going to bring great fighting and great entertainment. ”
Considering the situation since 2017, Thurman is not very reliable to complete three matches in 2022, in fact, boxing fans do not expect him to do so, but only that Thurman can dedicate fierce competition, even if one game is enough. It is unclear whether Thurman will be able to beat Barrios smoothly, but given the past situation, it is not excluded that after this game, he will have another 18-24 months to rest, and when he has enough time, Thurman will announce his comeback again with a big grin.
Spence has said that he will never play against Thurman because thurman did not take care of him when he called Thurman many years ago, and now he has no need to take care of the other party, if Spence insists on doing so, it is estimated that Thurman will have a better chance of challenging Crawford, and Crawford has also expressed his willingness to play this game.
Thurman said, "Spence and Crawford are all on the table, listen, I'm going to have a big fight, come on, you know boxing!" It's not basketball, football, out of respect for professional boxing, I don't predict a season, nor do I determine after beating Barrios whether the opponent is Spence or Crawford, there's no real timeline, but it's my plan. For Spence and Crawford, I'm not too partial to anyone, I want to fight for both of them, but unfortunately you can't accomplish one thing at the same time, you can only get it one by one, as long as someone proposes a contract, we will negotiate and then sign the contract, it's as simple as that. ”
Leaving aside the battle between Thurman and Spence, if Thurman and Crawford finalize the match, it is estimated that his result will not be much stronger than the battle between Sean Porter and Crawford last month, and personal predictions that Thurman will be knocked down nine times out of ten, it is nothing more than a matter of which round, not that Thurman is vulnerable, but the one he once was long gone.