Are big name boxers steering clear from Keith “One Time” Thurman?
Thurman is set to face Luis Collazo this coming weekend (July 11), but as everyone perhaps knows, this isn’t exactly a boxing match that would rank among his greatest fights.
No offense to Collazo, who is a former champion, but he is a heavy underdog against the hard-punching Thurman who boasts of an impressive 25-0 record, 21 of them coming on knockouts. Could Collazo by KO victim 22?
The undefeated WBA welterweight champion is of course not that thrilled with the upcoming fight though he was really left with no other fighter to face.
Thurman vs. Collazo headlines the first Premier Boxing Champions card this July 11 but has been criticized for being a weak pairing if not a mismatch.
In fact, Thurman bares that Collazo was not actually on his hit list but seeing that there was no notable fighter to face, he agreed to the match to keep himself in shape.
“(Fighting Collazo) was not on my priority list, but at the end of the day, I wanted to stay active,” Thurman said via USA TODAY Sports. “For the first time in my career, when (my team) called me about my next fight, they actually only gave me one name. Normally, I hear a list of names and they’re just like ‘Luis Collazo will fight you,’ and I’m like ‘OK.’
Thurman’s options were apparently whittled down with most of the big name fighters already tied up with other matches.
Shawn Porter recently faced off against Adrien Broner while Amir Khan is coming off a victory over Chris Algieri. With most fighters taken, it was the only available fight for Thurman at least for now.
Among those names, Thurman seems to have his eyes on Khan. Khan is believed to be the leading candidate to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. this coming September though nothing has been made official.
Actually, Thurman even threw his name into the mix, claiming that he can give Mayweather a better fight than Khan despite the fact that he isn’t among the list of possible fighters Mayweather could face.
"Mayweather is the man in the sport now, but his time is coming to end. Mayweather's gonna retire and relinquish that crown soon, and they're looking for another star. Keith has the ability to be that star" Thurman bares via ESPN.
Regardless, Thurman wants a piece of Khan and the British southpaw is all but willing to face him if a match could be made. But all that can only come close to happening if Khan gets shunned yet again by Mayweather’s next opponent in September.
While all that is in the air, the main order of business for Thurman right now is Collazo. A +1400 underdog, Thurman is expected to dominate against Collazo. Will we see knockout #22?