Thurman Explains Why He Calls Mayweather an 'Old Man'

By Rick Reeno

MGM Grand, Las Vegas - Recently, hard punching Keith Thurman (23-0, 21KOs) branded WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 26KOs) as an "old man."

Thurman believes Mayweather, who is closer to 40 than he is to 30, is very close to retirement, and points to Floyd calling himself TBE [The Best Ever] as proof.

Thurman returns on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in as Vegas, when he defend his WBA interim-welterweight championship against Leonard Bundu (31-0, 11KOs) in a Showtime televised fight.

"Listen to his press conference, he doesn't even know how long he's going to push with his career, which lets you know that he's on his final lap. He ain't gonna be here five year down the line. I will, I'll be here. So that's why I call him an old man. Is he still TBE? Possibly. But TBE is something that you get after you retire. To brand himself as TBE, that's another reason to see that he's close to retirement, because yourself that at the end of your career," Thurman said.