Keith Thurman is still expected to get his shot at WBC super weighterweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora after having the fight originally postponed due to a Fundora injury, and here he talks to Ring Magazine about the fight which he still anticipates taking place despite a new date still not having been announced just yet. Thurman says that he expects a formal announcement of the new fight date to come within the next couple of weeks, while he also looks to showcase a return to his younger form in this outing — although he later did some equivocating on exactly what style he intends to employ.
Thurman on fighting Fundora
“Ya’ll don’t understand Keith Thurman’s love for the sport, man. The only reason why I’m here, the only reason why I got to where I got to, it’s just pure love and devotion to boxing, man…There’s nothing like being in the ring, baby. And, you know, I want to fight the best, I want to challenge myself…I just want to make history and show the real, great fighters, you can’t stop them from being champion again. And that’s my motivation.”
On having the fight delayed and when the new date will be announced
“I’m hoping within 10 days to two weeks or so, to come out with an announcement. They put something in my ear but you know how this sport can be. I take it with a grain of salt, but it tells me to stay active, stay in the gym. I had a good workout this morning so I’m looking forward to this announcement.
“You’re going to watch that man fall down once again, like he’s already done in his career. I’m just coming to bring the big power. And, you know, power leaves last. I’ve always been a power puncher, and I know I was finessing and I was boxing, I was showing my footwork — that was fun, I’m tired of that. So I’m going to go back to that crack…I’m gong to bring that fastball for you.”
On how he plans to keep from getting overwhelmed by Fundora
“Remember B-Hop? Remember what B-Hop was doing? You just have to do things smarter, not harder. When you have knowledge and you have wisdom then utilize it. Why would I be trying to do all this stuff that a young man would do when I can stay in the pocket, stay cool, if he ain’t pressing, I’m not pressing. We manipulate moments in boxing, right.
“It’s about finessing those moments to where you’re not always having to dance around the ring. But you’d be surprised. These legs are still active. I still got lots of mobility in me and I plan to showcase it and a moving target is hard to hit and luckily for me I still got some movement in me but there’s just a different approach at this age in general, and I still think we can pack great results and be world champion once again.
“I got a whole bag of tricks, man. The number one thing that’s the hardest part about fighting Keith Thurman is they always underestimate how tricky I can be. And I love it. They try to put you in a box…but that lateral movement from my HBO days, and even when I was in Australia, I put Brock Jarvis to it. I love to test fighters…and when they have a problem keeping up with my movement, that’s when I find that One Time, that’s when I find them shots in between and that’s what I mean by manipulating moments.
“To me, Fundora is more of an obstacle course. He’s young, strong, but fundamentally I see a lot of mistakes, I see a lot of holes like Swiss cheese…You got to put a veteran in like me to see if these young boys are the next Him or not.”
