Keith Thurman Puts in Bid for Terence Crawford Bout
As he likes to do from time to time, resident welterweight hermit Keith “One Time” Thurman (29-1, 22 KO’s) has made another bid for a title shot. This time the verbose Floridian has expressed his interest in a fight with WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KO’s). Crawford recently made the fifth defense of his title against “Showtime” Shawn Porter. The bout was especially memorable as Crawford became the first fighter to ever stop Porter within the distance. Fresh off such a marquee win, it’s commonplace for fellow boxers to call out the champ. In this respect, Thurman’s comments to the Athletic make sense from a timing point of view.
“I’m going to be getting back in the ring shortly. I’d me more than happy, more than willing, to step in the ring with Bud Crawford next summer. I’m willing to fight Crawford eight months from now approximately. I would love to fight!”
Keith Thurman – Former Unified Welterweight Champion
On the other hand, it does seem rather desperate. The main reason for this is there is absolutely zero buzz attached to One Time’s name right now. Of course, he still has a name, remains a draw and is ranked #4 (WBC). No one is bringing that into question. At the same time however, boxing is very much a ‘what have you done for me lately’ type of sport. With that being said, Thurman has remained out of the ring since his July 20, 2019 loss to the now retired Manny Pacquiao . Aside from a lackluster points win over Josesito Lopez six months prior to the Pacquiao rumble, One Time was out of the ring for another two year stretch of inactivity.
GOTTA PLAY YOUR HAND!
To add more insult to injury, Crawford was one of the boxers that Thurman routinely snubbed when he was the top dog in the division. At the time, when the Nebraskan native was initially entering the 147-pound landscape and calling out the big names, One Time felt he needed to do more. Ironically, the other guy that One Time brushed to the side was the current IBF and WBC welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. Unsurprisingly, neither Spence nor Crawford appear overly pressed about facing Thurman in the ring.
With all the backstory and power shifts put to the side, Keith Thurman versus Terence Crawford really is still a great prizefight. Even with all his inactivity, for the record, One Time only has one competitive loss to Pacquiao on his ledger. For all intents and purposes, he is still a top competitor without an undue amount of battle damage. Unfortunately for him, public interest has shifted back toward a desire to see Bud versus the Truth. Spence was in attendance at the Porter fight which obviously did not go unnoticed by boxing fans. Also, the emphatic manner in which Bud defeated the common opponent in Porter has worked many into a lather.
Crawford himself expressed his own interest in a showdown with Spence. Therefore, Thurman probably shouldn’t hold his breath waiting on Crawford. Yet, you can’t blame a guy for trying. Besides, if the Spence versus Crawford bout does not take place, then Bud versus One Time is a great second prize! So let’s just wait and see how this developing situation works itself out
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By: Bakari Simpson
