Keith Thurman Sees Upsides to Crawford Being a Free Agent
When Keith “One Time” Thurman (30-1, 22 KO’s) made a successful return to the ring, this was a good thing for him and the sport. Naturally, it was good for Thurman to get active and start getting the feel of world class competition again. It was good for the boxing community because Thurman makes for memorable sound-bites and fun action-fights.
To get his feet wet, in this latest chapter of his career, the Floridian fought Mario Barrios. Thurman would go on to defeat Barrios by way of unanimous decision. Not failing to meet his own standard and reputation, this was another entertaining scrap.
THURMAN VERSUS CRAWFORD, ANYONE?
Now that he has taken care of business however, One Time is once again a major shark in the infested 147-pound waters. There is no denying, whether loved or hated, Thurman still resonates with the boxing public. Also, his ability to put the butts in the seats will still carry weight at the negotiation table. Therefore, perhaps now is the time for Thurman to mix it up with WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KO’s).
Crawford presently has no fights on the books and could do a lot worse than a big money fight with Thurman. The fans will argue he already has…plenty of times! A dustup with One Time could also serve as a test run for Bud, who is currently a free-agent promotionally speaking, to work with PBC.
Such a move would only make sense since Crawford’s biggest fights all are sheltered within the PBC stable. For Thurman, Bud represents a title fight and a shot at true redemption. Yet, the behind the scenes world of boxing politics is a murky and foreboding realm to say the least. So, we’ll just sit back and wait to see what is next for One Time!
“The fact that he is a free agent should make things a little bit better. Working with Bob [Arum] was not fun a for a lot of fighters…I do want to fight champions, I’m going to be looking forward to getting in the ring with a champion and I want an opportunity to get a world title again. So, if that’s the best opportunity, I’ll take it!”
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By: Bakari Simpson
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