LAS VEGAS – Keith Thurman’s surgically repaired left hand is one of the primary reasons he feels refreshed entering his first fight in 2½ years. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
A hand specialist urged Thurman to have surgery on his left hand after his 12-round, majority-decision win over Josesito Lopez in January 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. With the opportunity to fight Manny Pacquiao and the accompanying payday awaiting him, Thurman tried physical therapy and endured the pain prior to and during his memorable WBA welterweight title fight with the legendary Filipino southpaw.
He finally underwent surgery in September 2019, six weeks after his 12-round, split-decision defeat to Pacquiao. The healing process and the COVID-19 pandemic initiated the longest layoff of Thurman’s 14-year pro career, a hiatus that will end Saturday night, when Thurman will meet Mario Barrios in a 12-round welterweight fight at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Thurman, 33, cannot wait to show what he can do without having to fight through severe pain in his left hand.
“It’s amazing, man,” Thurman told BoxingScene.com. “Of course, my hand’s been better for a long time. Then there was COVID and everything – yada, yada, yada. But literally, you don’t understand how much pain you go through until you’re out of it. You don’t understand how toxic a relationship is unless you get out of that relationship. So, that’s just life. And it just feels so great to not be in physical pain.”
The pain in Thurman’s left hand intensified over time, until he finally decided he couldn’t compete again until he had it repaired.
The procedure entailed fusing metacarpal bones in his left hand, so that two of Thurman’s bones above his left wrist were melded into one. Those bones had layered on top of each other, according to Thurman, and caused painful friction when Thurman threw his left hand.
“It just was a bad year for me,” Thurman said of 2019. “But, you know, it was hard for me to sit back and trust the doctor to do hand surgery on a professional fighter. After the Pacquiao fight, you know, I knew I didn’t really have no other choice. I maxed out my performances. When it comes to being injured, I can only get away with those two. The doctor wanted hand surgery after the Josesito Lopez fight, but I said, ‘No, sir.’ I was tired of getting surgeries. I just wanted to be an active fighter, wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao. I wanted Pacquiao. I wanted Floyd [Mayweather]. I wanted those big fights ever since I was 25, 26 years old. So, when the moment came, I had to say yes.”
Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC), of Clearwater, Florida, is listed by most Internet sportsbooks as less than a 2-1 favorite over San Antonio’s Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs). They’ll headline a four-fight FOX Sports Pay-Per-View show scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET ($74.95).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
