Thurman hopes to make short work of Fundora on March 28th
So much is on the line in the main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 28th. Sebastian Fundora comes in as the defending WBC super welterweight champion and wants to make his case as the best fighter in the division. His opponent wants to get a win and not only become a world champion in a second weight class, but also put his name in consideration for the Hall of Fame.
Keith Thurman has been preparing for his bout against The Towering Inferno at his gym in Clearwater Florida and he is well aware of the physical advantages that Fundora has, but he is ready for it and can’t wait to make history in Las Vegas.
“This is just a beautiful opportunity,” Thurman said. “Boxing loves great comeback stories and this as a modern day story right now. This is what boxing movies are all about. It’s been done, it can be done and it’s gonna be done again.”
Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) was the unified welterweight champion and was viewed by many as the top fighter in the division. His lone loss was to Manny Pacquaio in 2019 and he’s fought two times since due to injuries. One of those delays was when Thurman was scheduled to fight Tim Tszyu in 2024. Fundora took his place and was able to score a decision win over Tszyu to become a world champion.
“Fundora wasn’t a big name when he was first coming up and I was yet to enter the division,” said Thurman. “He’s so tall that you weren’t sure if he was going to be moving up to other weight classes. It didn’t really cross my mind until he took my spot when I got hurt before the Tim Tszyu fight. I knew that I wanted to win a world title and once he won his rematch, I knew my path to the world title was gonna go through Fundora.”
Thurman will step in the ring on March 28th under the tutelage of Tony Morgan, who is known for guiding Andre Berto to a world title. This will be the second time that Morgan will be in Thurman’s corner as longtime Thurman trainer Dan Birmingham retired. Morgan has known Thurman since the amateurs, so it was only right for Thurman to have Morgan in his corner.
“One of the reasons why I chose Tony Morgan is because we go way back,” said Thurman. “There aren’t a lot of people who know Keith Thurman the way Tony Morgan knows Keith Thurman. He was very close friends with my first coach Ben Getty. We’ve had a great relationship since my youth.”
“I’m very blessed to have trainers who really know my history and my background. Tony Morgan is a world class trainer who’s had Olympians and world champions and he’s extremely qualified for the job. He sees what I see, which is what can be taken advantage of in this fight.”
When Thurman talked with us at The Boxing Source during the conference call a few weeks ago, he said that he prepared for Fundora by bringing in Mykal Fox – who is 6-4 – then brought in a heavyweight to work on moving around taller fighters and how to deal with a lot of activity. Although this bout was scheduled for October of last year, Thurman said that he’s excited to step in the ring on March 28th.
“Fundora really comes to fight and I truly come to fight. There’s a lot of potential for some great back and forth. I’m gonna look to set traps, drop those heavy hammers on him and hopefully go home early. Fundora’s never seen anything like this.”
Photos from Edward Allen
