Keith Thurman's Rise Continues To Make Waves

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

I’ve never had much luck with prospecting.

I was convinced cell phones would never be the must-have accessory of every pre-teen. I’d have guessed the only electric cars I’d see were the ones on slotted race tracks around my Christmas tree.

And yes, in 1998, I was the one who’d have drafted Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning, too.

Not surprisingly, my legacy of blatant misfires carries over to the fight game as well.

Upon watching Eric Fields improve to 11-0 at Mallory Square in 2008, I immediately went out and interviewed him, convinced he’d be the future of the cruiserweight division. And after seeing a high school-aged bantamweight named Ray Ximenez Jr. a few years later, I felt the same instant enthusiasm, wrote about him a day later and figured he’d surely be a legit world-class commodity by age 20.

Well, here we are in 2015.

Fields has won precisely one fight scheduled for more than eight rounds and was stopped in the fourth round of his most recent outing 13 months ago in a California airport hangar. And though Ximenez, now 22, remains unbeaten after a dozen performances as a pro, he’s still not graduated past eight-round fights – and only squeaked to a majority decision against a 7-12 foe to earn win No. 10.

Given that dubious history, it’s no surprise I maintain a death grip on any success I find.

So, Keith Thurman, you’ve been warned.

And now that another night in Las Vegas has come and gone, I expect the bandwagon to fill.

Though he was forced to settle for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. leftover on Saturday night rather than the “Money” man himself, the thoughtful, enlightened Floridian did enough of a number on Robert Guerrero over 12 rounds to officially stamp his ticket to the welterweight division’s exclusive room.

The 120-107, 118-108 and 118-109 scorecard margins were indicative enough of the competitive distance between the two fighters, but the appearance of the battered “Ghost’s face – which included a jagged cut over the left eye, a dime-sized bruise on the nose and a lumpy, purple contusion under the right eye – was a far more tangible sign of the edge held by Thurman, who improved to 25-0.

Lest we forget, Guerrero had lost only one fight since 2005 and only one as a full-fledged welterweight – both, incidentally, to that fellow named Floyd – but he stood little more than a speed bump’s chance of hindering “One Time’s” path toward becoming the best 147-pounder not named Floyd or Manny.

In fact, Guerrero appeared on the verge of the first stoppage loss of a 14-year career in the ninth round, when he was left flat on his back by a series of right hands, rose unsteadily as Kenny Bayless’ count reached 9 and lasted through to the 10th only because of a conveniently timed bell.

“I knew Robert Guerrero was a tremendous warrior and he showed it,” Thurman told NBC’s Kenny Rice in a truncated post-fight chat. “He was a little more calm and I thought he’d press harder in the beginning rounds. But I felt good that I was able to knock him down and I hurt him in each and every round. I could hear him in there and I knew I was hurting him.”

The network’s post-fight glow was directed more toward Guerrero’s ability to absorb a beating than Thurman’s acumen at delivering one, but while the masses still revel in one man’s Gatti-like heart, it’s more likely the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps are now far more aware of the other’s hands.

And if you thought it surprising that “Money” and “Pacman” got together, don’t hold your breath waiting for the May 2 winner to go right out and demand Thurman as an encore.

It’s a reality he seemed to diplomatically grasp when we talked last week.

The 26-year-old had been the WBA’s second banana behind two leading men – Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana -- at welterweight after winning the nonsense “interim” title against Diego Chaves in July 2013, then ascended to “regular” world champion behind Mayweather’s silly “super” belt in December after Mayweather scored a pair of victories over Maidana and he beat Leonard Bundu.

But while he’s never denies his desire to share a bill with “Money,” Thurman maintained prior to the Guerrero fight that a good-for-the-sport approach was more vital than I-want-mine dissension.

“I’m happy about it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, this is a matchup that’s great for the sport of boxing. I’ve said a lot of things in the past and I’ll probably say more things in the future. I say a lot of things when they ask me questions and they put a camera in front of my face. But I have no hatred in my heart and I have no jealousy in my heart. I’m happy to be where I am in the sport of boxing and it’s great to see the direction the sport of boxing is going today.”

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This week's title-fight schedule:

SATURDAY
IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight titles – Montreal, Canada
Sergey Kovalev (champion/No. 2 IWBR) vs. Jean Pascal (No. 1 WBO contender/No. 4 IWBR)
Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KO): Fifth WBO title defense; Fifth fight outside the United States (4-0, 3 KO)
Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO): Eighth title fight (4-2-1); Held IBO and WBC titles at 175 pounds
Fitzbitz says: Like Golovkin, Kovalev keeps facing foes labeled “best he’s ever been in with,” and, like Golovkin has been doing, he should succeed in violent style again here. Kovalev in 10

Vacant IBO light heavyweight title – Kempton Park, South Africa
Thomas Oosthuizen (No. 5 contender/No. 6 IWBR) vs. Ryno Liebenberg (No. 18 contender/No. 22 IWBR)
Oosthuizen (23-0-2, 14 KO): Tenth title fight (8-0-1); Held IBO title at 168 pounds (2011-13, seven defenses)
Liebenberg (16-1, 11 KO): First title defense; Twelfth fight in Kempton Park (11-0, 7 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Oosthuizen had built up a resume with his IBO belt at 168, but still provided as many questions as answers. That could change now that he’s moved up a weight class. Oosthuizen by decision

Last week's picks: 0-2 (LOSE: Butler, Shiming)
2015 picks record: 6-3 (66.6 percent)
Overall picks record: 645-226 (74.0 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.