By Edward Chaykovsky
WBA 'regular' welterweight champion Keith 'One Time' Thurman (29-0, 26KOs) is looking for a major fight in the fall, and one opponent he would love to face is the former beltholder Marcos 'El Chino' Maidana (35-5, 31KOs).
The two boxers were at one time scheduled to face each other a few years ago on HBO, but Maidana decided to take a pass on the fight.
Maidana has been inactive since fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. twice in 2014. During his long layoff, he put on quite a bit of weight and it's going to be several weeks of hard training just to slide it off. Maidana is interested in coming back in the fall but it depends on his physical condition after getting back in the gym for a few weeks.
Thurman on the other hand has stayed active, fighting three times since Maidana's absence from the ring.
If Thurman is unable to get Maidana in the ring, there are several other possible options that he's open to.
"I almost feel like it changes every year. In boxing things shift so rapidly but I’ve already told the fans that I would love to face Marcos Maidana, I would love to have that fight for the fans. He’s another power puncher, has good experience, fought Mayweather twice. Outside of him, there’s Kell Brook, there’s Amir Khan, there’s Shawn Porter," Thurman told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
"I think there are a lot of great fights in the welterweight division. I really don’t have my eyes set on nothing special and I don’t really dream about fights anymore, I just take them as they come. I’m gonna be here for a long time and I think in due time I’m gonna get everything that I want out of the welterweight division, but we just have to take our time. We have to fight one fight at a time and I’m really looking forward to the next one, I’m hoping to make something good happen."