WHO IS KEITH THURMAN?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 24 May 2019
Keith Thurman, Jr., now age 30, was born on November 23, 1988 in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. to an African-American father and a European-American mother of Polish and Hungarian descent. In 2017 he married Nepalese Priyana Thapa.
His nickname is "One Time" for his vaunted knockout punches, and is considered one of the hardest hitting boxers in the welterweight division.
Thurman is 5 ft 7 in. (170 cm. ) with a reach of 69 in. (175 cm. ) and an Orthodox stance. His boxing record is 29 wins, 22 wins by KO, 0 loss and 1 no contest. His KO rate is a high 73% and has fought a total of 148 rounds.
He had a colorful amateur career with 101 victories, 76 by KO's and won 6 National Championships including the 2006 PAL National Championships.
In 2007 he lost twice to world championship welterweight gold medalist Demetrius Andrade at the Olympic Trials and failed to represent the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
As an 18-year old, Thurman had his professional debut on November 9, 2007 and fought as a light middleweight against Kensky Rodney whom he knocked out in the first round in Tampa, Florida in a scheduled 4-rounder.
Thurman boxed against Francisco Garcia in April 4, 2009 in a fight that lasted less than 3 minutes. An accidental head butt stopped the fight and it was declared a no contest.
On November 26, 2012, Thurman scored a 4th round knock out of Carlos Quintana to win the WBO NABO super welterweight title. After the loss, Quintana announced his retirement in boxing.
On March 9, 2013 Thurman fought former IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck and won by unanimous decision, all three judges scoring it 120-108 for Thurman, who won the WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title. It was his first 12-round bout and his first fight to last beyond eighth round.
On July 27, 2013, he faced the interim WBA welterweight champion Diego Gabriel Chases and won the interim title by a 10th round knock out.
On October 12, 2013, Thurman made his first defense of the WBA interim title against Jesus Soto Karass at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Thurman floored Soto Karass in the fifth round and in the ninth round to win by a knockout.
On April 26, 2014, he fought Mexican former IBF lightweight champion Julio D?az. Thurman defeated Diaz to retain his interim WBA title. Diaz failed to come out of his corner at the start of round 4.
On December 13, 2014, Thurman fought undefeated Italian boxer Leonard Bundu, who was the European welterweight champion. Thurman fought the distance for only the third time in his professional career. He floored Bundu in the first round and went on to win a convincing unanimous decision, 120-107 on all three scorecards.
On January 28, 2015, he was elevated from interim to full WBA welterweight champion.
Keith Thurman faces the media before his fight with Danny Garcia on March, 2017.
Thurman battled former world champion Robert Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) on March 7, 2015 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Thurman knocked Guerrero down in the 9th round and went on to win a unanimous decision, 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108.
The fight peaked at a maximum of 4.2 million viewers on TV and became the most watched fight since 1998. The fight card averaged 3.13 million viewers.
Thurman's next bout happened in Tampa, Florida, just outside his hometown of Clearwater, on July 11, 2015 against Luis Collazo. He fought a world title fight in his home state, having his last fight there in November 2008.
Collazo mutilated Thurman with a hard body shot in the fifth round but the fight was stopped after the 7th round due to an injury near the eye of Collazo, blurring his vision. Thurman who was ahead 69-64, 68-65, and 69-64 on the three scorecards, was declared winner by TKO.
On June 25, 2016, Thurman successfully defended his title against Shawn Porter, as all three judges scored 115-113 in the champ's favor. Thurman hurt Porter badly many times but he was also agitated by a body blow in the eighth round before a crowd of 12,718.
Thurman landed 235 of 539 punches for 44 percent while Porter landed 236 of 662 for 36 percent. The fight was a blockbuster, averaging 3.1 million viewers, according to ESPN.
The live gate sold $1.1 million, the highest gate revenue in the history of Barclays Center. It was also the second highest attendance in the history of Barclays Center, New York.
The much awaited welterweight unification fight between Thurman and fellow undefeated WBC welterweight champion Danny Garc?a took place on March 4, 2017. Thurman won by split decision with scores of 116-112, 113-115 & 115-113.
Compubox stats had Thurman landing 147 of 570 punches for 26% while Garc?a landed 130 punches of 434 thrown for 30%. Both champions received a purse of $2 million each. The fight was attended by a record of 16,533 at the Barclays Center.
On May 19, 2017, it was reported that Thurman would be resting after a surgery on his right elbow. On April 24, 2018 he vacated his WBC title because of inactivity due his hand and elbow injuries.
Thurman clashed with Josesito L?pez on January 26, 2019 at Barclays Center, after 22 months of inactivity to defend his WBA welterweight title. Thurman was hurt in the 7th round but recovered to win the fight by majority decision.
In May 2019, Premier Boxing Champions announced that Thurman will face WBA regular welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao on July 20, 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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