By Jake Donovan
As you are constantly referred to as the future of boxing’s most lucrative division, it can become increasingly difficult to keep both feet on the ground.
Not so much for Keith Thurman, a lethal yet level-headed unbeaten welterweight who doesn’t envision walking on water any time soon.
The 26-year old has been a star on the rise, really from his days as a standout amateur from Florida, but in recent years as a knockout artist on the rise. Big wins on HBO and Showtime have helped expand his audience, but perhaps no event bigger for his own career than headlining the inaugural installment of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series on NBC. His 12-round win over Robert Guerrero in March played to more than 3.4 million homes during prime time on free TV, peaking at just over 4 million. Both numbers are good for the most-viewed non-PPV fight on network or cable TV in 2015.
His handlers turn to ‘One Time’ one more time, as the rising welterweight faces Luis Collazo this weekend in Tampa, Florida. The homecoming for Thurman headlines live in prime time on ESPN (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET), with the network hosting its first PBC event.
For Thurman, it’s not so much a distraction as a new experience in a career filled with brand new opportunities seemingly every time he enters the ring these days.
“I'm just young and each fight is a new experience,” Thurman (25-0-1 NC, 21KOs) noted during a recent media conference call discussing the event. “For the past two fights I've gone 12 rounds and prior to that I've never had two fights added together to a 24-round event. I've been on HBO, Showtime, NBC and now ESPN. Each corporation has their own camera crew to have their own little forte on how they like to host the event and it's all those differences. I'm building my name I'm becoming more popular.”
There are perks and nuisances that come with fighting at home, especially when it’s your first fight back amongst family and friends in nearly six years. Nine of Thurman’s first 12 fights took place in the Tampa/St. Petersburg region, but none since an eight-round decision over Edvan dos Santos in Nov. ’09—also the first time any of his opponents to that point managed to hear the final bell.
The past six years have been spent building his brand, with his career taking off beginning with his HBO-televised debut in July ’12. Thurman and his handlers were hoping for the moment to have come against former 140 lb. titlist Marcos Maidana, but the Argentine slugger and his team opted to move in a different direction during what was a transitional period in his career.
It didn’t stop Thurman from moving forward, even if it took another year or so before really stepping up in class. The charismatic Floridian turned heads with a pair of savage knockout wins in 2013, stopping then-unbeaten Diego Chaves in 10 rounds and then putting away perennial trial horse Jesus Soto Karass in nine rounds to cap the year.
Like most fighters affected by the implosion of Golden Boy Promotions and its eventual fallout with Haymon, Thurman was forced to tread water for most of 2014. During that time, the unbeaten knockout artist—who was confirmed a promotional free agent whose only ties were to an advisory deal with Haymon—was approached by new kid on the block, Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports who waved a lucrative deal in hopes of entering the boxing business with a bang.
Thurman instead opted for patience, a move that has proven wise given his increased exposure in the past several months. Of course with notoriety comes increasing obligations to remain in the public eye, especially with his pending homecoming this weekend.
“This camp in general I've had more appearances that I normally make,” Thurman admits, though without a trace of discontent. “More interviews and less time to myself, less time to stick to my regimen so I had to make adjustments and I'm just going to have to get use to making these adjustments especially when you're on this stage and you're making these kind of paychecks. I used to think it was all boxing but now I'm understanding the business and that's all that I'm really trying to wrap my mind around.
“They want to see more of me. They want to hear more of me. They want more feedback. You guys are asking these questions and getting feedback. So it's really just a journey.”
For Thurman, it’s hardly an obstacle he can’t overcome in remaining on the task at hand.
“Every fighter bears weight on their shoulders but it's not weight that we can't handle. If it was weight that we couldn't handle we wouldn't be in the position that we're in. So it's just growing and learning and evolving and understanding this world of boxing.
“I just kind of let my team handle all of the things on the outside. I just focus on this fight, for the most part there is a little extra comfort level knowing that you're fighting in your own backyard. We've been here many times and we've done this many times, just sticking to the formula and staying true. We don't really change nothing just because it's at home. I got a few more friends on Facebook trying to hit me up about tickets and stuff.”
A win over Collazo (36-6, 19KOs) likely won’t advance Thurman’s career any more than his current standing. Still,the 34-year old Nuyorican southpaw is not without merit even in the twilight.
He turned the tables on Victor Ortiz in their Super Bowl weekend clash last January. The night was designed as a relaunching of Ortiz’ brand but instead proved to be a redefining moment of Collazo’s career, parlaying the win into a lucrative showdown with Amir Khan. The night didn’t end well for him, as he was dropped three times in losing a landslide decision in the chief support to Floyd Mayweather’s thrilling win over Maidana in their first fight last May.
Like any other welterweight, Mayweather is high among the list of fighters targeted by Thurman for the near and distant future. The normally mild-mannered puncher-boxer has also called out Manny Pacquiao, along with a a general willingness to face any relevant opponent in and around his division.
The general belief is that Thurman will roll through Collazo this weekend. Looking at the glass half-full, there’s something to say about possibly becoming the first to stop the veteran Nuyorican southpaw, though Thurman’s primary concern is continuing to win and look good doing so, while building his own name to where he doesn’t have to depend on others not as willing to step to him in the ring.
“I’m 26-years-old, a young guy and we're learning constantly in the sport of boxing in the ring and outside of the ring in the sport of boxing. I try to stay level headed I try to stay humble and do the best I can. I'm looking forward to the career that's ahead of me.”
As the media and fan reaction suggest, so too are most others in the boxing world these days.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox