At 36, six years after he last stood as a world champion, Keith Thurman couldn’t contain his enthusiasm over his looming title shot at WBC 154lbs champion Sebastian Fundora.
And when Fundora was declared out of the October 25 Premier Boxing Champions’ pay-per-view main event with a hand contusion Friday, Thurman couldn’t mask his disappointment.
He cast some shade on Fundora’s late-in-the-game withdrawal on Instagram, and in a conversation with BoxingScene Sunday, some of the sting still remained for the former unified welterweight champion who shrugged off a slew of nagging ailments and pains to keep prior fights alive, submitting only to a whiplash-caused delay in 2016 and a torn bicep tendon last year that set up Fundora’s title victory over then-champion Tim Tszyu.
“I had to say what I said for the ‘gram … before we hit each other, he’s going to have to take some verbal jabs,” Thurman 31-1 (23 KOs) said of Fundora 23-1-1 (15 KOs), remarking the hand contusion “sounds like a sprained ankle. I’m not wishing a serious injury upon him, but my injuries have been severe.
“I fought when I had to take three cortisone shots [in the left hand] against Josesito Lopez, and I took five cortisone shots before Manny Pacquiao. And then I underwent surgery. … I mean, if [Fundora’s] doctor is saying he needs three weeks, and we fight in two weeks, I’ve got a … doctor that can help you.
“It makes me think: What’s the real issue here, and is your hand really going to be OK? This ain’t carpal tunnel. We hit foreheads. So in three weeks, are you really going to be ready for a training camp? I want some transparency, and maybe an apology.”
Thurman said he’d be primed to take a fight in the interim if Fundora proves incapable of returning for PBC’s expected late January pay-per-view card headlined by Manny Pacquiao.
“I’ll take a fight right now,” Thurman said. “That [fight] contract’s dead. There was nothing in there about a postponement. That’s boxing. We still want this fight. It’s still a great matchup: young lion versus old lion. I’m hoping it’s a short recovery for him, but this is why we take life day by day. Ain’t nothing new under the sun.”
Thurman had completed a Friday run when he learned of Fundora’s withdrawal, opting to honor an eight-round sparring session with a younger fighter preparing for his own bout in November.
Sporting bruising under both eyes Sunday, Thurman lamented the episode.
“This is very unfortunate – for the undercard fighters, for the people who had their trips booked and tickets bought,” Thurman said.
“I’m disappointed. We put our bodies on the line. What we do is unlike any other sport. We are the O.G.’s of contact sports. It’s my job to hurt others. I’m almost 37 now and I’m three surgeries in, plus all the pains and all the training, where you’re the recipient of the damage.
“We still have a great fight and I’m optimistic of the word ‘postponement.’ I came back from the whiplash to do an eight-week camp before beating Shawn Porter. If anyone knows how to wait and believe and achieve, it’s Keith Thurman.”
Thurman admitted his patience will be tried during this period of waiting for Fundora to heal, as fights in the U.S. have decreased.
“It’s tough out here with no more fights in America,” he said. “With a little bit of rest, [Fundora] should be ready. If it’s longer, book me somewhere.”
While Thurman feels equipped to take on a wealth of positions once he retires – mentioning fitness trainer, motivational/corporate speaker, youth counselor – he said, “my heart and intentions are in the ring.
“I haven’t heard the fat lady singing yet. I believe I can be a world champion again. I’m a man of faith, patience and belief. I know to not let the man get you down.”
Thurman competes in boxing’s deepest division, which on Saturday saw a follower as unified welterweight champion, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, cruise to a first-round knockout of little-known Uisma Lima in Ennis 154lbs debut.
Promoter Eddie Hearn then touted his fighter as the best in the division.
“It’s easy to say … don’t knock out your tune-up opponent and say you’re the best in the world,” Thurman said of Ennis and Hearn. “Turn up. But calm down.
“Boots Ennis is a terrific fighter. Is he the best at 154? You just got here, kid. There’s some bigger fights at 154. Saying you could knock out Vergil Ortiz? You knock out the [November 8] winner of Ortiz-[Erickson] Lubin, then you solidify your statement.”
And if all goes as planned for Thurman, then he’ll be there waiting for the winner of that.
