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KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
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Enlightened-One
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Enlightened-One
- Super Lightweight
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Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
Here are some facts that can be used to gauge the merit behind Keith Thurman’s controversial claims:
• Keith Thurman became the WBA interim champion during December 2013.
• Floyd Mayweather Jr. captured the WBA super world welterweight title during May 2014 when he defeated Marcos Maidana.
• Eight months later, Keith Thurman was elevated to regular champion status (around the same date as the announcement of the Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. super-fight).
• Three months later, Mayweather Jr. defeated Manny Pacquiao to unify the welterweight division.
• The following month, the WBA’s number 8 ranked contender, Errol Spence Jr., called out Keith Thurman immediately after his third-round stoppage over Phil Lo Greco.
• July 2015, Keith Thurman survived a terrible onslaught of punches (during the fifth round) from the ageing (34-yerar old) veteran, Luis Collazo, prior to ‘One Time’ scoring an eighth-round stoppage victory due to cuts.
• During the same month, The RING rated Keith Thurman in sixth place in their welterweight rankings.
• Money May only held the WBA super world welterweight title for 16 months, until he retired immediately after his September 2015 fight against Andre Berto.
• According to the WBA’s own rules, Floyd was never obliged to face Keith Thurman during his 16-month title reign.
• Manny Pacquiao became the first man to defeat Keith Thurman (on the 20th July, 2019), to capture the WBA super world welterweight title.
• Keith Thurman became the WBA interim champion during December 2013.
• Floyd Mayweather Jr. captured the WBA super world welterweight title during May 2014 when he defeated Marcos Maidana.
• Eight months later, Keith Thurman was elevated to regular champion status (around the same date as the announcement of the Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. super-fight).
• Three months later, Mayweather Jr. defeated Manny Pacquiao to unify the welterweight division.
• The following month, the WBA’s number 8 ranked contender, Errol Spence Jr., called out Keith Thurman immediately after his third-round stoppage over Phil Lo Greco.
• July 2015, Keith Thurman survived a terrible onslaught of punches (during the fifth round) from the ageing (34-yerar old) veteran, Luis Collazo, prior to ‘One Time’ scoring an eighth-round stoppage victory due to cuts.
• During the same month, The RING rated Keith Thurman in sixth place in their welterweight rankings.
• Money May only held the WBA super world welterweight title for 16 months, until he retired immediately after his September 2015 fight against Andre Berto.
• According to the WBA’s own rules, Floyd was never obliged to face Keith Thurman during his 16-month title reign.
• Manny Pacquiao became the first man to defeat Keith Thurman (on the 20th July, 2019), to capture the WBA super world welterweight title.
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
Spence: I Don't Want Anything To Do With Thurman, He's A Cornball, I Can't Stand Him
The back and forth beef between Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman has no bounds.
When Spence was climbing up the welterweight ranks, he had to play the waiting game for a potential shot at Thurman.
By March 2017, Thurman was an undefeated champion who had already beaten the likes of Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Robert Guerrero. Spence, meanwhile, did not become a welterweight titleholder until May 2017 when he had to travel to the United Kingdom to beat Kell Brook, at that point the biggest win of his career.
Spence (27-0, 21 KOS) was interested in a fight with Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) to prove his skills and ceiling dating back to 2015.
In 2021, however, it’s a completely different story, as the 32-year-old Thurman and 31-year-old Spence’s careers have been traveling in different directions.
Thurman has had to deal with hand and elbow surgeries that have allowed him to fight just twice since 2017. Both fights took place in a seven-month span in 2019, when Thurman returned and appeared rusty in a win over Josesito Lopez, only to then lose via split decision to Manny Pacquiao.
Since the Brook fight, Spence has beaten the likes of Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, and he’s now the WBC and IBF champion getting ready to fight Pacquiao in a FOX Sports pay-per-view in Las Vegas on Aug. 21.
“Man, I don’t want anything to do with Keith Thurman. That ship has sailed. That ship's been gone. I don’t want anything to do with that man. He’s messing with me. He’s still a good fighter. He could still fight. I don’t really have any interest in it,” Spence told Barbershop Conversations.
“I don’t pay attention to it. He can fight [Yordenis] Ugas. He ain't going to get a fight with me … It’s just how he is. He’s just a cornball to me. I just can’t stand him.”
After Spence made his lukewarm feelings about a future fight be known, Thurman clapped with a rebuttal.
“Why would I look down [at Spence] when I was trying to get a Floyd [Mayweather] fight back then? I was trying to get a Pacquiao fight back then when I was 26-years-old,” Thurman told Fight Hype. “Instead, I had to take what was coming to me, which was all these other fights.
“We need fighters like Errol Spence to fight fighters like Keith Thurman; we need that. But we also need people to know what type of fight it is when it is. If you do [Thurman vs. Spence] early, people aren’t going to fully understand the magnitude of that fight.
“My whole objective was me vs. Pacquiao, and then Thurman-Spence. Do you think if Pacquiao got defeated, Spence would be fighting Pacquiao at this moment? No, he wouldn’t be fighting Pacquiao at this moment, so that falls back on me. That’s my mistake; I allowed this door to open. ‘We don’t need Thurman.’
“If that’s how [Spence] wants to go about the welterweight division, so be it. I ain’t never got a phone call once in my life to fight Errol Spence, and we got the same manager … I’m not following your shadow. [Spence] is fighting my shadow.
“I don’t think [Spence] really wants it. I think we can still make it happen unless he wants to make this fight [with Pacquiao], unify, salute and jump out of the welterweight division. If he jumps out of the welterweight division, it ain’t on Thurman; it’s on him. Maybe I’ll follow him. Maybe I’ll just tell him, ‘I’ll follow you wherever you go.’ Why? Because I seek ‘The Truth’ these days. I’m a ‘Truth’ seeker; I seek ‘The Truth.’”
The back and forth beef between Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman has no bounds.
When Spence was climbing up the welterweight ranks, he had to play the waiting game for a potential shot at Thurman.
By March 2017, Thurman was an undefeated champion who had already beaten the likes of Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Robert Guerrero. Spence, meanwhile, did not become a welterweight titleholder until May 2017 when he had to travel to the United Kingdom to beat Kell Brook, at that point the biggest win of his career.
Spence (27-0, 21 KOS) was interested in a fight with Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) to prove his skills and ceiling dating back to 2015.
In 2021, however, it’s a completely different story, as the 32-year-old Thurman and 31-year-old Spence’s careers have been traveling in different directions.
Thurman has had to deal with hand and elbow surgeries that have allowed him to fight just twice since 2017. Both fights took place in a seven-month span in 2019, when Thurman returned and appeared rusty in a win over Josesito Lopez, only to then lose via split decision to Manny Pacquiao.
Since the Brook fight, Spence has beaten the likes of Lamont Peterson, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, and he’s now the WBC and IBF champion getting ready to fight Pacquiao in a FOX Sports pay-per-view in Las Vegas on Aug. 21.
“Man, I don’t want anything to do with Keith Thurman. That ship has sailed. That ship's been gone. I don’t want anything to do with that man. He’s messing with me. He’s still a good fighter. He could still fight. I don’t really have any interest in it,” Spence told Barbershop Conversations.
“I don’t pay attention to it. He can fight [Yordenis] Ugas. He ain't going to get a fight with me … It’s just how he is. He’s just a cornball to me. I just can’t stand him.”
After Spence made his lukewarm feelings about a future fight be known, Thurman clapped with a rebuttal.
“Why would I look down [at Spence] when I was trying to get a Floyd [Mayweather] fight back then? I was trying to get a Pacquiao fight back then when I was 26-years-old,” Thurman told Fight Hype. “Instead, I had to take what was coming to me, which was all these other fights.
“We need fighters like Errol Spence to fight fighters like Keith Thurman; we need that. But we also need people to know what type of fight it is when it is. If you do [Thurman vs. Spence] early, people aren’t going to fully understand the magnitude of that fight.
“My whole objective was me vs. Pacquiao, and then Thurman-Spence. Do you think if Pacquiao got defeated, Spence would be fighting Pacquiao at this moment? No, he wouldn’t be fighting Pacquiao at this moment, so that falls back on me. That’s my mistake; I allowed this door to open. ‘We don’t need Thurman.’
“If that’s how [Spence] wants to go about the welterweight division, so be it. I ain’t never got a phone call once in my life to fight Errol Spence, and we got the same manager … I’m not following your shadow. [Spence] is fighting my shadow.
“I don’t think [Spence] really wants it. I think we can still make it happen unless he wants to make this fight [with Pacquiao], unify, salute and jump out of the welterweight division. If he jumps out of the welterweight division, it ain’t on Thurman; it’s on him. Maybe I’ll follow him. Maybe I’ll just tell him, ‘I’ll follow you wherever you go.’ Why? Because I seek ‘The Truth’ these days. I’m a ‘Truth’ seeker; I seek ‘The Truth.’”
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Enlightened-One
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Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
After carefully considering Thurman’s claims, coupled with reviewing the facts and timelines, there doesn’t appear to be any justification for his accusations.
Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
What exactly is he claiming? I don't care enough to watch the video, but I'll read a synopsis.
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Ruthless-RKO
- Welterweight
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Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
FMJ was never gonna fight anyone coming up the ranks. He was never gonna risk it.
Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
True, Thurman in peak form was gonna be too risky for Floyd, especially when there were guys like Berto who looked pretty good on paper with a casuals casual glanceRuthless-RKO wrote: ↑14 Jun 2021, 15:55FMJ was never gonna fight anyone coming up the ranks. He was never gonna risk it.
Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
I remember Floyd offering to put up one of his belts for Thurman to fight Spence for. Thurman demanded $10 million, saying Spence didn't deserve a shot, and went on to fight Collazo, who Khan just kicked the crap out of. Before that he fought Bundu and Guerrero. He knew he wouldn't beat Spence, and only wanted big money against a 38-39yr old Floyd. I don't blame Spence for not giving him a fight. If Thurman beat Pac, he would have come up with a new excuse or injury to not fight Spence.
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Enlightened-One
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Re: KEITH THURMAN CLAIMS SPENCE & MAYWEATHER CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM!
FMJ definitely beat multiple guys rated above Thurman at 147lbs during the time frame Keith is referring to. And that's not a personal opinion either, because you can review the historical ratings for yourself - they are what they are.Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑14 Jun 2021, 15:55FMJ was never gonna fight anyone coming up the ranks. He was never gonna risk it.
I also feel that big-name fighters on the cusp of retirement should be targeting paydays and legacy bouts rather than sharing the ring with prospects or unheralded fighters.
Keith Thurman was only rated 6th at 147lbs back then and Floyd had bigger fish to fry.
And I personally don't begrudge Floyd choosing to face Andre Berto for his farewell outing, because since the Ricky Hatton retirement, he'd beaten the likes of Pacquiao, Canelo, Cotto, Mosley, Marquez, Maidana(twice) and Guerrero.
And finally, let's not forget that that Keith Thurman openly expressed his disinterest in facing Errol Spence Jr. around the same time frame.