Former unified welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman is headed down under to make his comeback.
Thurman will square off with Australia’s Brock Jarvis in a 10-round junior middleweight fight on March 12 at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, No Limit Boxing announced at a news conference in Sydney on Wednesday.
The fight will headline a pay-per-view in Australia on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports. No Limit Boxing said there is no American broadcaster yet.
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), 36, of Clearwater, Florida, will be in action for the first time in three years. He has not boxed since a lopsided unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in a welterweight fight in February 2022; Barrios went on to win the WBC title.
Thurman was due to return last March against another Australian, then-WBO junior middleweight titlist Tim Tszyu in 155-pound nontitle bout. The fight was slated to headline the first PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but Thurman suffered a biceps injury and had to withdraw from the fight 12 days beforehand.
Instead, Tszyu faced Sebastian Fundora, who moved up from the undercard, and lost a split decision in a gruesome bloodbath that cost him his world title and the chance to win the vacant WBC belt.
Thurman, meanwhile, whose only loss was a split decision to Manny Pacquiao in 2019 that cost him the WBA welterweight belt, had surgery on his biceps and has been out since — and anxious to fight again after years of stops and starts.
The fight with Jarvis will be only Thurman’s sixth since 2016, but he does have big wins in a title defense against Shawn Porter in 2016 followed by a win over Danny Garcia to unify the WBA and WBC welterweight titles in 2017.
“This is going to be one of the greatest comebacks in 2025,” said Thurman, who attended the news conference via satellite. “Time does not take away the ability of champions. I had to do a little Google on who Brock Jarvis was, how he lost against a world champion (Liam Paro). I’m going to warm up my skills and talent (and) remind people of who Keith Thurman is by beating up some kangaroos. I’m going to fly over there, I’m going to get me this kangaroo (Jarvis) and I’m going to come back to America and I’ll come get Tszyu.”
Despite Thurman’s lack of activity, No Limit CEO George Rose believes a Jarvis win would still be highly significant.
“A victory over Thurman would unquestionably be the biggest win of Brock’s career,” Rose said. “It will catapult him into the global spotlight. He’d be a top contender overnight. Thurman’s been in the ring with some of the best in the world — Manny Pacquiao, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia. His record speaks for itself but he’s back again to prove he’s still at the top.
“I know he had planned to do that against Tim last year in Las Vegas but we all know how that went down. Now, he’s got his sights set on crushing another Australian’s boxing dreams and getting back to the top of a stacked division. (Jarvis) has an unbreakable work ethic and mindset that very few fighters have. I truly believe he’s got the tools to end Thurman’s career.”
In October 2022, Jarvis (22-1, 20 KOs), 27, suffered his only loss by first-round knockout to countryman Paro, who went on to win the IBF junior welterweight title. Jarvis has won his only two fights since, both by fourth-round knockout, but against low-level opponents.
“I’ve watched Thurman for a long time,” said Jarvis, who is trained by Australian legend and Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech. “I’m excited and I plan on making a statement on March 12. This is a big opportunity for me and I’m going to make the most of it.
“Originally when I got the call, I thought Keith had retired, so it was news to me. I also thought, what an opportunity for me. I know he hasn’t knocked anyone out for 10 years, he hasn’t fought in three years, and pulled out last year with an old man injury. I’ll just be a lot better when he gets here and arrives on Australian soil.”
Also on the card, former world title challenger Michael Zerafa (32-5, 20 KOs), 32 of Australia, will face Besir Ay (19-1, 9 KOs), 35, of Germany, in a middleweight fight and Australian-based Mexican middleweight Mateo Tapia (17-0-1, 10 KOs), 26, will face an opponent to named.
