Floyd Mayweather Next Fight: Keith Thurman Says He Would "Destroy"Mayweather; Does He Deserve Fight?
With his victory over Italian boxer Leonard Bundu on Dec. 13, Keith Thurman extended his unblemished record to 24-0-1.
Thurman is still just 26 years old, and he is considered one of the best up and coming boxers in the sport today. With 21 of his 24 victories ending by way of knockout, the nickname "One Time" is very appropriate.
Thurman still doesn't have a fight scheduled for 2015, but he made boxing fans everywhere know that he wants to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year.
"Floyd is supposed to be TBE (the best ever) and I want to fight the best. I want to fight the man. It ain’t like Floyd’s gonna knock me out. When has Floyd knocked ANYBODY out in the past several years? So if anybody should be scared, it should be him. If anything I’m gonna do, I’m going to get a great learning experience in my career. And to be honest, I’m looking forward to destroying Mr. Floyd “Money” Mayweather. I have a motto: “Burn Money.” In 2015, we’re getting ready to burn Money,” said Thurman.
When asked about a possible fight against Marcos Maidana, Thurman continued to say he wanted Mayweather.
Many boxing fans will argue Thurman doesn't deserve the chance to step in the same ring with Mayweather or have the opportunity to face the champion. However, others will disagree by asking: Did Maidana deserve that right, twice? Did Robert Guerrero?
The fight that everyone wants to see is Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao, but with the two arguing more on social networking platforms like Instagram and Twitter, there's a lot of doubt on whether or not the fight will ever happen. Pacquiao and Mayweather are still very torn on a financial split, but Thurman may be willing to negotiate for less than what Pacquiao is asking for.
Thurman has 21 knockouts in his 25 career fights, where Mayweather has 27 knockouts in his 47 career bouts. Thurman isn't the next Mike Tyson or George Foreman, but his punching power is unmatchable by anyone in the welterweight division today. Mayweather only has one knockout in the last seven years, which came against Victor Ortiz in a controversial ending, back in 2011.
As far as Thurman not being qualified, that argument doesn't hold much ground anymore. Not only is Thurman undefeated, but he is the current Interim WBA Welterweight Champion, a title he has successfully defended three times. Thurman's victory over Bundu, who was 31-0, showed that Thurman isn't just a knockout artist, but he can technically box with the best. As expected, Bundu switched to southpaw and was orthodox throughout the fight, but it didn't confuse the 26-year-old from Clearwater, Florida.
With so many talented boxers not having a scheduled fight for 2015, Thurman has a great opportunity to add a big win to his resume. If Mayweather isn't willing to face Thurman, a match against Pacquiao or Timothy Bradley could be next. Even Juan Manuel Márquez would be an entertaining fight to pursue for Thurman.
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