Keith Thurman Says Errol Spence Owes Him A Debt of Gratitude
The rivalry between former unified welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) and reigning 147-pound unified champion Errol “The Truth” Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) goes back several years. Unfortunately, the bout has yet to occur. But as far as Thurman is concerned, it’s a matchup that can still happen.
SPENCE OWES ME
During an exclusive interview with EsNews, Thurman discussed the likelihood of facing Spence. One Time believes he helped make Spence’s career and believes that Spence owes him a bit of gratitude.
“Let’s see what happens, man . . . I’m ready; I’ll take my portion, you’ll take your portion, and the truth is, Errol, you should thank me.
If I fought you when you called me out, when you was nobody, you got paid nobody money. You fight Keith Thurman today, you make more money than Keith Thurman. So, wherever Keith Thurman is, you should probably thank him. Wherever he is, you should probably say ‘thanks, champ’.”
Keith Thurman
Upon hearing what Thurman had to say, Spence went to social media and posted the following:
LONGTIME ENEMIES
The roots of their beef go back to 2017 when both men held world welterweight titles. Spence went on a public campaign wanting a unification fight with Thurman. But at that time, Thurman played the waiting game. His rationale was that if he were to face Spence, it should be a big-money, mega-fight. But circumstances from both parties kept getting in the way, and Thurman lost his luster following his defeat to future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao in May 2019.
Thurman and Spence are older now and in their thirties. Word on the street is that Spence is in negotiations for a fight against the reigning WBO champion, Terence Crawford. But there remains a glimmer of hope fans could see a battle between Spence and Thurman.
In November 2022, the WBC named Thurman their mandatory challenger at 147. If negotiations between Spence and Crawford fall through, Spence could face Thurman as a fall-back option.
Plenty of dominoes would have to fall for that scenario to play out. Some fans will say, “too little, too late” when it comes to a Spence-Thurman fight. But as far as Thurman is concerned, a fight with Spence would be right on time.
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