Via Dan Ambrose: Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman slimmed down 145.5 pounds on Friday for his return match Saturday night on FOX Sports pay-per-view against Mario Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs) at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Image source: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions)
Former WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Barrios weighs 146.25 lbs and looks healthier in terms of weight than skinny, 33-year-old Thurman (29-1.22 KOs).
Thurman is about to find out Saturday night about what he has left of his career. The 33-year-old Thurman will either shine in his comeback or will fail badly and be retired.
Does Thurman have anything left?
For weeks, Thurman has talked about how he remains one of the elite in the welterweight division, and he doesn’t seem to fully understand that he needs to prove himself. Whatever Thurman was five years ago, that person is gone.
Not only did Thurman age and change, but the weight classification also changed dramatically. The warriors Thurman competed against years ago were all retired fossils or hilltops of a bygone era.
As long as Thurman has a realistic view of what he can achieve in his comeback, he won’t be disappointed by not winning his world title.
This writer hates to say it, but chances are Thurman will lose to Barrios on Saturday night. Once that happens, Thurman will need to decide what he wants to do.
He can certainly stay in the game and play B-sides like other former world champions like Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia and, until recently, Shawn Porter have played.
But if Thurman is under the illusion that he will become the boxer he was six years ago, he will be disappointed.
Keith Thurman said: “We want to get back in the ring and put on a great performance. Boxing with Chris Mannix. “We want to get back to the Korean weight class and remind the world who Keith Thurman is and what I have to offer.
“I’m ready for any champion once we get past Mario Barrios,” Thurman continued. “I fought practically all of 2019 with one hand. My hands have never been the same.
“You may not have seen the same style from Keith Thurman, but I have made adjustments, and I will fight for my career to the end. I’m a fighter, I’m a warrior,” Thurman said.
Thurman considers himself a modern day gladiator
‘One Time ‘Thurman compares himself to one of the ancient Roman gladiators competed from 105 BC to 404 AD before the Roman emperor Constantine put an end to the brutal mortal contests.
The life of an average gladiator is bitter and short, full of pain and misery. You don’t see millionaire gladiators taking a three-year break between competitions like Thurman.
The average gladiator’s career ends in their mid-20s with their death or injury. As you’d expect, you don’t see too many 33-year-old fighters because, like boxing, it’s a young man’s sport.
“We just watched Gary Russell Jr battle an injury, and that’s how it was,” Thurman said. “We want to be in the gunfight, and we want to be on stage, we want to be champions. Even if we are not in the optimal situation, we will take the risk.
“It’s a fighter [mentality],” said Thurman. “They don’t ask the gladiators, ‘How are you feeling today?’ They said, ‘Come on, get out of there. Time to go.’ Fortunately, we have more freedom than they did in that generation.
“The spirit within us is the same and that is the spirit of the warrior. If you haven’t seen Keith Thurman, I don’t blame any analyst for questioning Keith Thurman. ‘Is he really this? Is he really like that? His wife, his child now, he is truly a Hall of Famer. Maybe he’s done? ‘
“That’s how the mind works. That’s how an analytical approach should be. But I love boxing and I don’t think people understand my love for boxing,” Thurman said.
“I even told my wife that I was ‘married to the game before I married you.’ For me, win, lose or draw, every time Keith Thurman steps foot in the ring, he is living his dream.
“I know my skills and abilities like one of the largest welder weights in today’s welder weight division. I just wanted to constantly show that, and that was my fire and my fire,” Thurman said.
‘One Time’ admits he’s hungry
“I don’t feel as hungry as I did when I leveled up when I was younger. ‘Recognize me.’ I am recognized [now]’ said Thurman.
It’s clear that Thurman doesn’t feel as hungry as he used to, which is why he hasn’t been in the ring for almost three years.
If Thurman were a true gladiator, he’d stay in the game until the bitter end, battling debilitating injuries like they’ve done in the past.
“It changes but it doesn’t change the general intention of being the greatest fighter I can make to do some of the most exciting fights in the welterweight division today, tomorrow and the day after. .
“That’s what Keith Thurman is all about, and that mindset will never change,” Thurman said.
“
