Via Chris Williams: Errol Spence Jr. reiterated on Saturday that Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman won’t fight him because he won’t “Uttered” his name when both were world champions.
Now that Spence (28-0.22 KOs) is the big fish with the IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight titles he owns, it’s time to payback, shut down needy Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), ignored his pleas for the world champion title.
If Thurman wants to fight for a world title, he’ll need to wait until the four belts are fragmented after Spence beats WBO champion Terence Crawford later this year.
It will be tough for Thurman, though, as he’ll likely need to battle one of these young killers for one of the vacant 147 lb titles:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr
- Conor Benn
Spence is just one game away from leaving the 147 lb division to move up to 154, and Thurman will have to make the best of everything, trying to fill the void of Errol’s departure.
Thurman, 33, recently laid off for three years, defeats former WBA welterweight champion Mario Barrios by unanimous decision 12 rounds.
Anything Thurman shined would have been in that win over Barrios was forfeited because he picked him after an 11-round knockout loss to 135-pounder Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in the previous game. That was last June.
Thurman won’t fight that man and mf won’t say my name when we’re both champions
– Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) April 30, 2022
Spence is about to have a 10th round knockout win earlier this month against 147 lb WBA champion Yordenis Ugas on April 16 in Arlington, Texas.
As for Thurman, there is no telling when he will return to the ring. If he follows his recent wound-licking pattern after one of his games, we probably won’t see him back in the ring for another two years until 2024.
Since Thurman’s win over Danny Garcia in 2017, he’s had a few layoff longer than 2 years once caused many boxing fans to question his craving for the sport.
Thurman disappears after big fights, celebrates, licks his wounds for long periods of time. Imagine that he will continue to follow this pattern as upcoming events overshadow the previous one.
The world will never know 😂😂 https://t.co/YksYwi9Ye9
– Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) April 30, 2022
There’s no doubt that 5’7″ Thurman will choose to move to 154, following behind Spence, hoping he’ll throw him a bone. Thurman is too small to fight 154 opponents in that weight class, and besides, he’s too prone to injury.
It’s reasonable to assume that if Thurman broke down physically after every game at 147, he’d break into pieces at 154, to the point where he wouldn’t be able to come back in two to three years.
I was also ahead of him up there ♂️ https://t.co/OVMdLkHooB
– Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) April 30, 2022
