Keith Thurman had to leave the ring without his WBA welterweight belt following his bout with Manny Pacquiao in July 2019. The American went down in the first round and appeared too shaken to recover his footing in the entire match. Yet he put a good fight that the judges handed down a split decision. Now, Thurman wants the belt back.
In the aftermath of the defeat, the first for Thurman, the former champ revealed he was atop the ring with Pacquiao bothered by a hand injury. With his left not fully prepared for the bruising battle with the Filipino boxing icon, a loss seemed inevitable and despite his efforts to finish the match and keep his crown, the result was unfavorable.
According to Boxing News 24, Thurman has already addressed his left-hand injury. He had a surgery and he expects to be his old fighting self in the next few months. He intends to box again and the priority match for him is Pacquiao, possibly to avenge the disappointment of last year.
"I want my belt back, and then I want the Spence fight," the American was reported as saying.
However, the Pacman saying yes to Thurman's rematch challenge is not an assured scenario. The first stumbling block is that Pacquiao has a lot of options in case he decides to fight again. There is the possibility of facing Mikey Garcia but the likelihood it's not on top of the Filipino's concern.
At 41, Pacquiao has to be more careful about the steps he will take. Experts said the eight-division titleholder is more likely to choose an opponent that will deliver the big bucks. On that, the showdown No. 2 with Floyd Mayweather has to be the top choice.
Or Pacquiao can answer the call made by MMA fighter Conor McGregor that they duke it out governed by boxing rules. Both possibilities offer huge paycheck for Pacquiao that the thought of giving Thurman a rematch will likely slip away.
Then there's the coronavirus pandemic that will prevent the staging of boxing matches in the months to come, perhaps up to early next year. But according to Thurman, settling scores with Pacquiao behind a closed door is not a problem. He is willing to brawl in any terms and conditions, so it would seem.
In the event that a rematch with the Filipino champ is not happening soon, Thurman has the option to face other fighters like Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, and Shawn Porter. The latter is on the list of Thurman's conquered foes, by the way.
Porter is willing to meet Thurman on the ring again but admitted a second match seemed unlikely.
"I'm not sure [Thurman] can look at himself knowing that he may not be 100% and will be ready to take on a challenge like me," Boxing Insider reported Porter as saying.
