Keith Thurman vs Josesito Lopez: Well Look Who’s Back!
After nearly a two year layoff from the ring, former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman is ready to return.
Finally!
The Clearwater native will look to achieve his second title defense when he takes on Josesito Lopez. The two will square-off Saturday January 26 in Brooklyn, New York.
Thurman (28-0, 22KO) heads into this match-up as the overwhelming favorite, even with the extended layoff.
Lopez is an exciting fighter known for his action-packed fights with Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana.
He also challenged Canelo Alvarez in 2012 for the WBC junior middleweight title, where he was stopped in the fifth round.
Prediction
Thurman is head and shoulders the better fighter heading into this match-up. He possesses exceptional hand-speed, knockout power in both hands, and the utilize good footwork while boxing from the outside.
Lopez is a rough, rugged and comes to fight. He’s more than willing to stand and slug it out; revisit his fights versus Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz.
What he lacks in skill, he makes up for with his heart and determination.
Lopez has been stopped three times as a professional against Andre Berto, Marcos Maidana and Canelo Alvarez. That doesn’t bode well for him as he’ll be facing a guy with more than enough power to produce the same result.
I expect this fight to have some fireworks with Thurman trying to shake off the rust. That will allow Lopez to possibly steal a few of the early rounds.
However, as the fight wears on, we’ll see Thurman start to breakdown the smaller/older fighter using thundering combinations with bad intentions.
In the end, I see Thurman winning this fight via eighth round knockout to retain his Super WBA welterweight title.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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