By Edward Chaykovsky
WBA 'regular' welterweight champion Keith Thurman (25-0, 21KOs) is confident that he's in the running for a crack at the pound-for-pound king, WBO/WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26KOs).
Thurman is set to return against Luis Collazo (36-6, 19KOs) on July 11th at the USF Sundome in Tampa, Florida. The fight will headline the first edition of Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN.
Thurman was inching close to a shot last year, but a lackluster showing against Leonard Bundu cooled off any talk of facing Mayweather. But then Thurman returned in March and dominated former multi-division champion Robert Guerrero over twelve rounds, and his win was more impressive than the victory Mayweather obtained over Guerrero in May of 2013.
Thurman believes that a solid win over Collazo, hopefully by knockout, will push him further in Mayweather's direction.
Mayweather is scheduled to come back to the ring on September 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. No opponent has been named.
"We’re definitely in line for the Mayweather shot. We’ve been in line for the Mayweather shot for a minute but it doesn’t matter who I fight in the welterweight division. I would love Floyd Mayweather, he’s the man. Until the man retires, he’s the man. I want to be a legend and the best way to become a legend is by taking out a legend, and that would be Floyd Mayweather," Thurman told On The Ropes Boxing Radio .