Keith Thurman knows that his words can’t be trusted. For years, the former unified champion promised his fans that he would get back in the ring, only to be derailed. Now, however, he appears to be on the verge of keeping his promise.
Officially, the 36-year-old stepped onto the scales at 153.8 pounds for his junior middleweight showdown against Brock Jarvis. Not to be outdone, his opponent also weighed in at 153.8 pounds.
Now that the hard part is done, the two will attempt to entertain the Australian crowd tomorrow night.
In the case of Jarvis, this is the big break he’s been searching for. Thurman, by far, is the biggest name he’s faced. When he was asked to step up against Liam Paro in 2022, the 27-year-old was brutally stopped in the first round.
Since then, however, Jarvis (22-1, 20 KOs) has bounced back nicely, winning two straight, both coming via stoppage. A win over Thurman, to his own admission, would push him over the edge and into the world of superstardom. Coincidentally, Thurman knows how devastating a blow that would be.
Getting back on track has been an impossible task for the aging veteran. In 2019, he ended a near two-year layoff by scoring a win over Josesito Lopez. He then attempted to follow it up but suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
Following his split decision loss, inactivity crept back in as he was sidelined for two and a half years. Now, this will be his first appearance since a 2022 blowout win over Mario Barrios.
Currently, the worst-kept secret in boxing is Thurman’s future plans. If everything goes according to plan, he could make another return to Australia in a showdown against Tim Tszyu. The two were initially supposed to get it on in early 2024 before another injury kept Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) out of the ring.
Tszyu would go on to lose a close decision to Sebastian Fundora and has since lost another bout, this time against Bakhram Murtazaliev. He’s now in a similar position as Thurman as he’ll look to bounce back against Joseph Spencer on April 6th.