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[Derek Lee]

Spoiler: Part 1

Keith Thurman: I’m ‘more than willing’ to fight Terence Crawford this summer

By Greg Rosenstein Nov 22, 2021

19

Terence Crawford looked into the crowd after his 10th-round TKO win over Shawn Porter on Saturday for one man and one man only: Errol Spence Jr. He then took the microphone and said what every person in the Mandalay Bay Arena and at home wanted.

“Maybe if Spence gets his tail out of his butt he’d fight me.”

This is the matchup we all want to see. But because of a variety of factors — boxing politics chief among them — it hasn’t happened yet and it’s not guaranteed to happen. Spence is still recovering from an eye injury that forced him to miss the Manny Pacquiao fight. Will he want to get thrown into the fire against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world right away? There’s a very real likelihood, understandably so, that his team wouldn’t want that.

That leaves Crawford needing a top-tier opponent. Former titleholder Keith Thurman says it should be him.

“I’m going to be getting back in the ring shortly,” Thurman told The Athletic. “I’d be 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.”

Thurman is coming off a loss of his WBA welterweight belt to Manny Pacquiao in 2019 but plans to return in January. If he is victorious, he could be an appealing option for Crawford next.

“He seems like somebody who of course wants accolades on his record. He wants these titles in his possession. He also wants the legacy that has names that are part of history,” Thurman said.

Thurman spoke with The Athletic about what he saw in Crawford-Porter, the controversial stoppage and why he believes he should be next in line for the champ.

What did you think of the fight?

It was a typical Shawn Porter fight. You can’t stop Shawn Porter from being Shawn Porter. The only problem with that is Terence Crawford showed a lot of composure. Shawn was trying to show some of his experiences, his abilities, the things that he works on with keeping his head low, making you feel uncomfortable, but that pace that he sets is very hard to maintain.

I gave Crawford a new nickname after watching that fight. I call him ‘Crafty Crawford.’ I said he’s gonna need to be crafty to win, and he showed his craftiness. He smiled a lot because he was in a real fight up against a real dog and it was a little different. That wrestling on the inside, he seemed to get frustrated with at first. But of course, at the end of the day, it’s nothing really new. It’s just a little uncomfortable.

Sometimes fights don’t go the way that you want it to. So he just weathered the storm and stayed very calm. He kept jabbing, kept his distance and once Shawn really started to slow down just a little bit, that’s all you need sometimes.

 

[Derek Lee]

Spoiler: Part 2

I used to say that a lot about Amir Khan. Amir Khan is the kind of fighter that you’re not going to enjoy (fighting) for four rounds because it’s just way too fast. But the moment he slows down, and he’s no longer as fast as he was, it’s just enough for punchers to get right in between and make something happen.

We talked pre-fight about the punches that could hurt Shawn and I was thinking stylistically, I wasn’t sure if Crawford was going to be a dominant southpaw. But he did choose to be a dominant southpaw in this fight and with that stance, I predicted that the big punch would have been the left uppercut, which ended up landing in the 10th round. The first knockdown was that exact punch.

Round after round after round, after seeing the same thing over and over due to Shawn Porter’s one-dimensional tactics, that’s where ‘Crafty Crawford’ was able to truly show his craftsmanship. He was able to read him and land that uppercut. He had a lot of confidence. He landed it early in the round so there was plenty of time. He was already getting better at his combinations past the sixth round. He was letting his hands go a little bit more. He seemed to slow down a little bit because he kept trying to land check hooks and winging uppercuts and they were kind of like punchy, very fast punches that Shawn was trying to catch them coming in. And when they both kind of settled down, it really helped Crawford, even though he slowed down just a tad bit.

Sometimes slowing down helps you hit your mark. And that’s what he started to do. He started to actually hit his mark. His hands might have not been as fast twitchy as they were before, but finally he was touching him, catching him with little hooks, getting some combinations off that had to get his confidence up and then it was just a matter of time. Because even if Porter would have gone the whole 12 rounds, it seemed like Crawford was letting his hands go more. He was able to throw the better combinations mid-round, and from that point, it’s a struggle for Shawn to try to come back in that round.

The way that Porter mauls you, he’s not landing a lot of clean shots. In the later rounds, it was very impressive what Shawn was doing but I think it was more impressive what Crawford was able to do. So I was giving him a lot more credit in rounds five and six and as it continued to go up.

So it was just a great fight for the fans. A true Porter fight. A good valid test for the champion Terence Crawford. I made the statement that all real welterweights beat Shawn Porter. And what I mean by my statement is if you’re an overnight champion, you’re not getting past Shawn Porter. If you’re going to solidify your champion status in the welterweight division, then you’re going to get through Shawn Porter. And not only did he get through Shawn Porter, but he was able to stop Shawn Porter, somebody who we know is truly a durable fighter.

It looked like he could maybe have continued, but I did see his leg shake before he stood up. I’m pretty sure that’s what his father saw, that he was just in a bad condition and we’re not sure he would have gotten out of that round. And by getting out of that round, there’s only six minutes left in the fight. Shawn Porter is just not notorious for his late-round power. He would have needed a knockout to win the fight. And I just think it would have been unnecessary damage and a true uphill battle.

Only the trainer and the fighter knows what they’re capable of in those championship rounds. A lot of times, fighters are working their way to the finish line and they don’t have the gusto to knock people out like Canelo Alvarez and other punchers in boxing today.

What did you think of Shawn’s father ending the fight early?

I think of it as mathematical. The fight was close before the knockdown. I think by the 10th round Crawford might have been edging Shawn out a little bit. I think he started to come back in the fight pretty nicely. Early on in the first six rounds, I only gave Crawford two, possibly three. But it’s okay if I only gave him two because of his lack of real clean punching in the opening four-to-six rounds.

So like I said, after the sixth round, Crawford really started to place his punches on Shawn better. And so by the time we got to the 10th, we were already chatting about it before the knockdown. I thought it was debatable that Crawford was probably up by one round, or it was just one of those ‘anybody’s fight from here on out.’ So if it’s anybody’s fight from here on out, and you have two knockdowns in one round with two rounds to go, the mathematics say you can’t win on the scorecards. A trainer knows that, And then it’s a decision from there. Was he a trainer when he stepped up to the ropes? Was he a father? Or was he both? I argue he was both.

So if it were you, would you be okay with the fight ending that way?

I would not be okay, especially the way that Shawn was walking around …

I love watching tremendous athletes be up against adversity like that, because that’s where the diamond comes out. That’s where you can shine. Win, lose or draw, when a man survives something like that, it’s very admirable, right? If Shawn could have gotten out of that round, we would have been impressed. If Shawn would have pushed it to the final bell, we would have been severely impressed.

But is all of that necessary? Is it all necessary for the fans, just so that at the end of the day, when we have this interview, we can say Shawn Porter lost against a great champion in Terence Crawford but the way he closed out the fight was very impressive? To watch him get off the mat and continue was very impressive? Is that a necessary conversation to be had? So from a father/trainer, I can automatically say the answer’s no. That’s not a conversation that needs to be had.

Porter, throughout his career, you can just look at his record, he doesn’t seem to possess that late-round knockout potential power. You don’t want to take away from your fighter, but you want to be able to be honest and that’s the job of a trainer.

‘Because of that double knockdown, you had a great fight, but you lost tonight.’ We don’t need six more minutes for that decision. Ultimately there could have been a third knockdown, there could have been more head damage, there could have been a bigger counter shot.

Yes, there is a small possibility that while Crawford is trying to finish off the show for all of his Omaha friends and for all those in attendance, maybe Shawn could have landed one punch. But that’s the only possibility: Shawn Porter landing one punch. So as a fight fan, and seeing Porter go through so many things throughout his whole career, I of course would have liked to have seen if he could have gotten out of that round. But I’m not the one taking the punches on that night. So at the end of the day, it just is what it is.

 

[Derek Lee]

Spoiler: Part 3

After the fight he called out Errol Spence Jr. What do you think of that matchup?

It’s a big fight. The real question is, is that the fight that Errol Spence wants right away? Going through a camp in preparation for (Many) Pacquiao, not being able to perform, having to lay back, get eye surgery, time off. Does he want to just fight? Does he feel like he needs to be active before contending his undefeated record up against another undefeated welterweight champion? That’s the big question.

If he is the kind of fighter with his ‘man down’ persona, if he believes that he hasn’t skipped a beat, he doesn’t need a tune up fight and he then would go right away into the biggest welterweight matchup of the year and one of the biggest unification bouts in a long time. That would be big for both fighters, and big for the sport of boxing. So it’s really just a matter of timing.




Errol Spence Jr. has not lost as a professional and is the preferred next fight for Terence Crawford. (Ryan Hafey/PBC)


I believe that everybody will fight everybody. It’s coming down to the wire, as they say. We are all capable, and we’re all willing. But there always needs to be a little bit of timing. You got to move the pieces around and get them in the right position and then you can make it happen. As long as they believe that the stars have aligned, then so be it. But if they are slightly out of alignment, then we might have to wait just a little bit more on the clock. I believe that there’s a lot of big fights that could be made in this upcoming year for the welterweight division.

I’m going to be getting back in the ring shortly. I’d be 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.

With my inactivity, it should be very understandable that I want to get back in the ring. I want to shake off some of the dust. I want to showcase my skills and talent to the world once again and remind them what it’s like to watch Keith Thurman fight. What kind of action that I bring into the ring. So after I restimulate everybody’s senses, I would be more than willing to get in the ring with Bud Crawford.

I know in his statements prior to this fight, he pretty much wants Thurman on his resume. He just got through Porter. He would love to get to Thurman. And then obviously, he would also love to get the Errol Spence’s, the Ugas’ and all of the champions because we’re at a pinnacle point in the welterweight division. They said it on the network: there is no king, the king is to be crowned. Max (Kellerman) believes that is Terence Crawford. Other people do too. But there’s a journey to be had and I would love to be part of that journey.

So you have a fight in January and then want Crawford this summer. Would you have interest in Spence?

I’ve always been open to Errol. He’s lost interest for whatever reason whenever they’re doing interviews and things of that nature. I understand. I’m not an undefeated welterweight champion no more. The belts have traveled. When I was up and coming, I had my beef with Paulie Malignaggi. I didn’t have real beef with Paulie, I had beef with whoever was holding the WBA welterweight title of the world. That’s who I had beef with. So when Paulie lost it to Adrian Broner, I had no reason to bring up Paulie’s name no more because I was chasing the belt. I was chasing the title.

That’s why I admire Crawford and all his statements. He seems like somebody who of course wants accolades on his record. He wants these titles in his possession. He also wants the legacy that has names that are part of history. I already unified for Errol Spence. One of the reasons why they were able to unify and make those things happen is because I relinquished the WBC world title at one time. So Crawford knows the history of the welterweight division, and he knows that my one loss over Pacquiao is not really a big deal. Plus Thurman is somebody that no one’s ever stopped. So he wants to put me on the pedestal and knock me right down and say look, ‘Thurman is somebody that can be knocked out.’ That too would be another big statement in the welterweight division.

I’m not Shawn Porter. The way I throw punches, the way I throw combinations are different. I saw plenty of skills and talent. I think it’d be a tremendous chess match in the ring with Bud Crawford. I just think that when my punches land, they’re slightly different than the way that they land with Shawn Porter.

So if he’s interested in you, and Spence wants to go a different direction, how do you see yourself matching up with Crawford?

It would be a big challenge. He’s a crafty southpaw. He has foot movement. He’s just very comfortable regardless of if he’s just standing there blocking, looking for the counters. I saw a little bit of ‘you hit me, I want to hit you right back’ ‘so I do believe that we could get the trading going. Then it is what it is. Once fighters really stand there and start trading with one another, it’s who gets the best of who.

I just love world class fights. I love fighting the best fighters in the world. That atmosphere that I saw last night, that’s where I love to be. So it would be a big fight, a tremendous fight, and I believe that I have the skills and capabilities to challenge Crawford in a way that he has not been challenged yet at 147.

(Top photo: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

Keith Thurman: I'm 'more than willing' to fight Terence Crawford this summer – The Athletic

 

[O³ (O cubed)]

How long has Keith Thurman been out of the ring?
Two years? And he wants to fight Bud?

 

[Tanahashi Coates]

Spoiler: Part 1

Keith Thurman: I’m ‘more than willing’ to fight Terence Crawford this summer

By Greg Rosenstein Nov 22, 2021

19

Terence Crawford looked into the crowd after his 10th-round TKO win over Shawn Porter on Saturday for one man and one man only: Errol Spence Jr. He then took the microphone and said what every person in the Mandalay Bay Arena and at home wanted.

“Maybe if Spence gets his tail out of his butt he’d fight me.”

This is the matchup we all want to see. But because of a variety of factors — boxing politics chief among them — it hasn’t happened yet and it’s not guaranteed to happen. Spence is still recovering from an eye injury that forced him to miss the Manny Pacquiao fight. Will he want to get thrown into the fire against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world right away? There’s a very real likelihood, understandably so, that his team wouldn’t want that.

That leaves Crawford needing a top-tier opponent. Former titleholder Keith Thurman says it should be him.

“I’m going to be getting back in the ring shortly,” Thurman told The Athletic. “I’d be 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.”

Thurman is coming off a loss of his WBA welterweight belt to Manny Pacquiao in 2019 but plans to return in January. If he is victorious, he could be an appealing option for Crawford next.

“He seems like somebody who of course wants accolades on his record. He wants these titles in his possession. He also wants the legacy that has names that are part of history,” Thurman said.

Thurman spoke with The Athletic about what he saw in Crawford-Porter, the controversial stoppage and why he believes he should be next in line for the champ.

What did you think of the fight?

It was a typical Shawn Porter fight. You can’t stop Shawn Porter from being Shawn Porter. The only problem with that is Terence Crawford showed a lot of composure. Shawn was trying to show some of his experiences, his abilities, the things that he works on with keeping his head low, making you feel uncomfortable, but that pace that he sets is very hard to maintain.

I gave Crawford a new nickname after watching that fight. I call him ‘Crafty Crawford.’ I said he’s gonna need to be crafty to win, and he showed his craftiness. He smiled a lot because he was in a real fight up against a real dog and it was a little different. That wrestling on the inside, he seemed to get frustrated with at first. But of course, at the end of the day, it’s nothing really new. It’s just a little uncomfortable.

Sometimes fights don’t go the way that you want it to. So he just weathered the storm and stayed very calm. He kept jabbing, kept his distance and once Shawn really started to slow down just a little bit, that’s all you need sometimes.

 

[OGBobbyJohnson]

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Thurman was number 1 now he talking about fighting next summer Spence flipped his whip & done came back before him

I wanna see Spence/Crawford & Boots/Thurman or any variation of those 4

 

[Tanahashi Coates]

Watching these PBC fanboy channels Juelz over Crawford winning, make up conspiracies about Porter banging the mat being the signal to throw the towel and Spence sneaking out the building has been thoroughly entertaining

 

[reservoirdogs]

Spoiler: Part 3

After the fight he called out Errol Spence Jr. What do you think of that matchup?

It’s a big fight. The real question is, is that the fight that Errol Spence wants right away? Going through a camp in preparation for (Many) Pacquiao, not being able to perform, having to lay back, get eye surgery, time off. Does he want to just fight? Does he feel like he needs to be active before contending his undefeated record up against another undefeated welterweight champion? That’s the big question.

If he is the kind of fighter with his ‘man down’ persona, if he believes that he hasn’t skipped a beat, he doesn’t need a tune up fight and he then would go right away into the biggest welterweight matchup of the year and one of the biggest unification bouts in a long time. That would be big for both fighters, and big for the sport of boxing. So it’s really just a matter of timing.




Errol Spence Jr. has not lost as a professional and is the preferred next fight for Terence Crawford. (Ryan Hafey/PBC)


I believe that everybody will fight everybody. It’s coming down to the wire, as they say. We are all capable, and we’re all willing. But there always needs to be a little bit of timing. You got to move the pieces around and get them in the right position and then you can make it happen. As long as they believe that the stars have aligned, then so be it. But if they are slightly out of alignment, then we might have to wait just a little bit more on the clock. I believe that there’s a lot of big fights that could be made in this upcoming year for the welterweight division.

I’m going to be getting back in the ring shortly. I’d be 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.

With my inactivity, it should be very understandable that I want to get back in the ring. I want to shake off some of the dust. I want to showcase my skills and talent to the world once again and remind them what it’s like to watch Keith Thurman fight. What kind of action that I bring into the ring. So after I restimulate everybody’s senses, I would be more than willing to get in the ring with Bud Crawford.

I know in his statements prior to this fight, he pretty much wants Thurman on his resume. He just got through Porter. He would love to get to Thurman. And then obviously, he would also love to get the Errol Spence’s, the Ugas’ and all of the champions because we’re at a pinnacle point in the welterweight division. They said it on the network: there is no king, the king is to be crowned. Max (Kellerman) believes that is Terence Crawford. Other people do too. But there’s a journey to be had and I would love to be part of that journey.

So you have a fight in January and then want Crawford this summer. Would you have interest in Spence?

I’ve always been open to Errol. He’s lost interest for whatever reason whenever they’re doing interviews and things of that nature. I understand. I’m not an undefeated welterweight champion no more. The belts have traveled. When I was up and coming, I had my beef with Paulie Malignaggi. I didn’t have real beef with Paulie, I had beef with whoever was holding the WBA welterweight title of the world. That’s who I had beef with. So when Paulie lost it to Adrian Broner, I had no reason to bring up Paulie’s name no more because I was chasing the belt. I was chasing the title.

That’s why I admire Crawford and all his statements. He seems like somebody who of course wants accolades on his record. He wants these titles in his possession. He also wants the legacy that has names that are part of history. I already unified for Errol Spence. One of the reasons why they were able to unify and make those things happen is because I relinquished the WBC world title at one time. So Crawford knows the history of the welterweight division, and he knows that my one loss over Pacquiao is not really a big deal. Plus Thurman is somebody that no one’s ever stopped. So he wants to put me on the pedestal and knock me right down and say look, ‘Thurman is somebody that can be knocked out.’ That too would be another big statement in the welterweight division.

I’m not Shawn Porter. The way I throw punches, the way I throw combinations are different. I saw plenty of skills and talent. I think it’d be a tremendous chess match in the ring with Bud Crawford. I just think that when my punches land, they’re slightly different than the way that they land with Shawn Porter.

So if he’s interested in you, and Spence wants to go a different direction, how do you see yourself matching up with Crawford?

It would be a big challenge. He’s a crafty southpaw. He has foot movement. He’s just very comfortable regardless of if he’s just standing there blocking, looking for the counters. I saw a little bit of ‘you hit me, I want to hit you right back’ ‘so I do believe that we could get the trading going. Then it is what it is. Once fighters really stand there and start trading with one another, it’s who gets the best of who.

I just love world class fights. I love fighting the best fighters in the world. That atmosphere that I saw last night, that’s where I love to be. So it would be a big fight, a tremendous fight, and I believe that I have the skills and capabilities to challenge Crawford in a way that he has not been challenged yet at 147.

(Top photo: Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

Keith Thurman: I'm 'more than willing' to fight Terence Crawford this summer – The Athletic

I liked Thurman when he was active but cmon, just make Bud vs Spence happen after Spence shakes off some rust in a comeback bout. We don’t need no Bud vs Thurman or anything else before it, the fight has been built enough and Bud is 34

 

[Big Boss]

I knew Thurman was gon say something

 

[Tanahashi Coates]

 

[shroommon]

somebody said this Deontay Wilder

 

[patscorpio]

somebody said this Deontay Wilder

Lol the final punch put dude literally in the bushes

 

[patscorpio]

what an upset this was..

 

[trick]

This is on the Murata/GGG card in Saitama?

 

[Tanahashi Coates]

This is on the Murata/GGG card in Saitama?

Nope. That's on the 29th